Fire Emblem: Forgotten Shadows
by Rolf Kaiser the Jester
Summary: While Chrom and the Shepherds fight Grima in order to restore peace to the world, something far more sinister is lurking in the shadows, just waiting for it's chance to throw the world into chaos once more.
1. Chapter One:Lost

**A/N: Hey guys, this is my very first story ever, so please be gentle. Constructive criticism is welcome, don't be shy about it either, because I probably really need it. But anyways, without further ado, here is my fanfiction!**

Chapter one: Lost…

_Emptiness, that's all I can feel, if it can even be described as feeling. I suppose it's more of a sound than a feeling, or is it a taste, maybe a sight? I can't be sure of anything in this empty place._

_How long have I been here, and how long will I be here?_

_Am I the only one here?_

_Why am I here?_

_What am I?_

_Do I even have a tangible form?...nope, guess not._

_I wonder if this is some kind of purgatory, and if so, what did I do to deserve being sent here?_

_I have too many questions, I should do something to get my mind off of it, but what? There's nothing to do but think, right? Maybe I should check to see if I can do anything…..well, I can make myself tired, not sure how I can be tired without a physical form, but I'm not going to question it since it offers something different than the nothingness I felt before._

_Huh, that's interesting, all of the sudden I feel rather…warm and...wet? but I don't see any water._

_What's happening?_

**A/N: Sorry this was so short, but it is merely the prologue, I promise the actual chapters will be somewhere around 1k words.**

**Thank you for reading!**


	2. Chapter Two:and found

Chapter Two:…And Found

* * *

_Ughh…why does my head hurt so bad? Oh, I've been sleeping on a rock…..Wait, why am I sleeping on a rock? Where am I?!_

_Okay okay, calm down, just open your eyes and assess the situation…okay, I'm at the edge of some kind of lake, that would explain why I'm all wet, there are a few animals around, none big enough to worry about though._

_All right, now stand up, steady, don't fall over….okay, I'm good._

_Now, try to remember how you got here…gaaahhh, it's no good, just set up a list of priorities for now, 1: find somewhere to stay for the night. 2: find food 3: find some dry clothes._

* * *

_It's been at least three hours and I have found nothing, how out of the way was I?_

_Whatever, focus on the problem at hand, it's dark out, I can barely see, and there's probably no one around for miles, and to top it all off, my legs feel like jelly, I need to keep walking though, gotta find some kind of shelter at the very least._

_Wait; is that a person over there, I think it is, but why are they wearing heavy armor?_

"Hey there, could you-"I began to ask as I tapped the person's shoulder.

My question was cut short as I was hit in the face with a hard object.

* * *

_Huh, I can faintly hear voices, two males by the sound of it._

"So you just hit him with a log?"

_What?_

"He came at me from behind, so I just thought what any normal person would and assumed that he was an assassin."

_Are they talking about me?_

*sigh* "I don't think that's what a normal person would assume, but whatever, just try not to hit someone with a log before you ascertain they're identity next time."

_You tell him!_

"Guys, stop arguing and come over here, I think he's waking up!"

_A third voice, this one seems to be female._

I slowly opened my eyes only to shut them quickly due to the bright sunlight.

_Okay, sit up before opening eyes._

I sat up and opened my eyes to find three people standing in front of me, and one more sitting off to the side.

"Er m ah?" I tried to ask with a dry and stick mouth.

"Beg pardon?" the man on the left said. Oddly enough, he was wearing some rather large and bulky, blue armor. He had messy brown hair and seemed to have a permanent scowl on his face.

"What I meant to say was; where am I?"

"As if you didn't know." Big Blue scoffed

"Frederick, please. Give the man a chance." the man in the middle had spoken this time. "You're in Ylisse, friend." He seemed to be kinder than the man whom he had called Frederick, a fact for which I was grateful.

"And where exactly is that?" I asked

"Oh, another amnesiac? That seems perfectly plausible, first that Robin character yesterday, and now this one. Does this not seem even a little bit suspicious to you, Sire?"

"Frederick, I thought we had been over this, I trust Robin. It's as simple as that."

"But what if he's been acting this entire time, and this man here is one of his accomplices?"

"Frederick!" The girl chimed in "You're scaring him."

_Not really._

"My apologies milady, I got carried away. Please forgive me."

"Its fine Frederick, just try not to let it happen again." Chrom said

"Yes, milord."

_Now is probably a good time to speak up. _"Are you done? Because I'd still like to know what's going on and who you people are."

"Of course." Chrom answered "I can't answer your first question, but as for who we are; we are the Shepherds, I'm Chrom, this girl is my sister, Lissa, and you've met Frederick already, correct?"

"Briefly." I answered as I rubbed my cheek.

"And the man over there is Robin." Robin gave me a small wave "We met him just yesterday, and you seem to have the same problem he does."

_Poor sap._

"I have one more question; if you're shepherds, then where are your sheep?" I asked.

"We're not shepherds in that sense, we are figurative shepherds and the people of this country are our figurative sheep, and as their shepherds we do our best to make sure that they're safe and well taken care of."

"Ahahahahah!" Chrom was visibly taken aback at my sudden outburst ."How are you able to say that with a straight face?"

"What do you mean?" Chrom said, confusion obvious in his voice.

"I mean, how do you not die laughing while delivering that little speech?"

"Why would I laugh?"

"Oh, come now, surely that speech isn't for real, right?"

"Of course it is, why would I lie about such a thing?"

"Well, it could be some kind of scam trying to get money off of poor, unsuspecting citizens."

"Milord would never do such a thing!" Frederick said, clearly enraged. "Such a notion is ridiculous, why, you should be-"

"GUYS!" we all looked over at Lissa, surprised. "Can't we just get along and stop fighting?"

"You're right." Chrom said "I'm sorry Lissa."

"I'd like to offer my apologies as well" Frederick said "Please forgive me…um, I'm afraid we never caught your name, sir."

"Hershel, Hershel Wile."

* * *

**A/N: Well, I'm not completely satisfied with the way this chapter came out, but it was pretty good…..pretty okay, anyway…..actually, it was a pretty okay amount of good, But don't let me rain on any of the parades you may be having.**

**Tell me what you thought in the reviews or through PM, doesn't really matter to me though.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Edit: Made minor changes to dialogue and added some much needed punctuation.**


	3. Chapter Three: Surprise Employment

**A/N: Hey guys, here is the third chapter of this okay-ish fanfic. **

Chapter Three: Surprise Employment

**(Third-person POV)**

Hershel observed the others as they ate lunch in silence. Despite the temporary truce, there was still tension in the air. Frederick was still scowling at him, Chrom looked slightly perplexed and uncomfortable, Lissa was trying hard to smile and look unbothered by the tension, and Robin kept starting to say something only to stop and continue eating.

_I should probably apologize and try to make it up to them in some way, if for no other reason than to get Frederick to stop glaring daggers at me._

"Ahem, um, Chrom? I'm…sorry for, you know, insulting you and making fun of your hero's speech, so, um, friends?

The silence seemed like it lasted forever before Chrom spoke up "I'd be more than happy to be friends, but please refrain from arguing with Frederick any further, he tends to overreact sometimes."

"I do nothing of the sort, why does everybody think that?" Frederick asked. He was promptly ignored.

"I'll certainly try my best." Hershel said with a smirk

"Now that we're all friends, can we get going?" Robin asked "I'd like to reach our destination before nightfall."

"Well said, Robin." Chrom answered "We should make haste for Ylisstol."

* * *

As they arrived in the capital, both Robin and Hershel were awestruck by the grandeur of the city. The buildings seemed to sparkle and the roads were extremely clean and well kept. The people were all smiling and talking as if they knew everyone in the city as well as they knew their own family. There were people hanging their laundry out to dry, there were children playing without a care in the world and the city seemed to be absolutely perfect in every way.

"How is it that everyone here is so happy?" Robin asked "I would've thought that in a city this big a lot of people would be impoverished or homeless"

"It's all thanks to the Exalt, she has made this city peaceful, and the peace makes the people happy" Frederick explained

Robin turned to Frederick "The Exalt is your ruler, yes?"

"Yes." Frederick replied "Her name is Lady Emmeryn. And speaking of the Exalt, it seems she has come to visit the citizens."

Robin looked down the street to see a large procession of soldiers carrying standards with the same strange symbol on all of them. In the middle of the soldiers was the Exalt herself, dressed in green sage's robes with a head adornment similar to a halo and on her forehead she bore the same mark as on the standards.

"That symbol on the standards, what is it?" Robin asked

"That is the Brand of the Exalt; it is a mark that every member of the royal family is born with. The Brand is proof of their Exalted bloodline." Frederick said

"Ah, I see." Robin responded "But if she's so important, then is it really safe for her to walk among the commoners?"

"The Exalt is a symbol of peace, Ylisse's most prized quality" Frederick answered "Long ago at the dawn of our age, the fell dragon tried to destroy the world, but the first exalt joined forces with the divine dragon and laid the beast low. Exalt Emmeryn reminds us all of the peace we fought for then."

"And with Plegia poking at our borders, the people need her." Chrom added "She's a calming presence when some might otherwise call for war.

"Then the Ylissean people are indeed lucky to have her" said Robin

"She's also the best big sister anyone could ask for!" Lissa added

"Yes, I imagine she…wait, what? She's your…" Robin asked with surprise obvious in his voice "But then that would make you and Chrom…"

"The prince and princess, yes" Frederick said "You remember Chrom's name and not this?

"Prince Chrom, forgive me, I should have had better manners, I.."

"Don't worry about it" Chrom interrupted "And just Chrom will do, I've never been much for formalities, anyway"

"But still…" Robin said, feeling slightly more self-conscious about the way he was acting.

"Wait." Lissa said "Where did Hershel go?"

"What do you mean?" asked Chrom "He's right behind…us. Where did he go?"

"He probably slithered away to meet up with his Plegian spy accomplices." Frederick said with disdain in his voice.

"Frederick, please." Chrom said "Let's not jump to conclusions like that without any evidence."

"Yes, milord. It's just that his actions thus far have been cause for suspicion." Frederick said as he glanced around suspiciously.

"But in any case" Chrom began "It seems Emm is returning to the palace. Would you like to meet her?"

Robin merely nodded.

"Well it's settled then" Chrom said "We make for the palace next, Frederick."

"Yes, sire." Frederick responded

* * *

**(Hershel's POV)**

_Hah, they didn't even notice when I slipped away, or if they did notice they didn't care, or perhaps they didn't notice and they didn't care, or did they not care enough to notice, or maybe they didn't notice enough to care, or was it that they noticed something else that they cared about and because they noticed the thing that they cared about, they didn't care enough about noticing me to notice the care I took in slipping away from their noticing gazes...hm, yes, that was probably it. I am so clever._

_Now, where am I? There's a huge white castle type structure in front of me, there are some bushes and trees behind me, I'm standing on a dirt path, and I think I see a couple of armed guards waaaaay to my right, and they seem to be coming this way at an alarming rate._

"Hey, you, what do you think you're doing here?!"

"Who, me?" I asked. Now that they were close, I could see that that one of them was short and fat with heavy armor and a lance that looked much too big for him. The other one was tall and skinny with barely any armor and a short sword at his waist.

"Yes you, who else would we be talking to?" The short one said "But never mind that. What are you doing in the royal gardens?"

_The royal gardens? How did I get here? Either I climbed wall while I wasn't paying attention, or this place has some really incompetent guards._

"Hey, wake up; you haven't answered our question yet."

"Well, my good sir. I honestly have no idea how I got here.

"A likely story. Sir, I'm afraid you're coming with us."

"Why are you afraid?"

"What?"

"You said you were afraid that I was coming with you. Does that mean you're afraid of me?"

"I was kind of wondering the same thing, Bob." The tall one chimed in.

"No, it's just a figure of speech, Bill"

"Then what were you actually trying to say, Bob?"

"What I was trying to say was that we're arresting him, Bill"

"But what-"

_Agghhh, I can't stand listening to these two. Wait, maybe I can escape while they're still arguing, and hopefully they'll care too much about their argument to notice that I'm trying to carefully avoid them noticing me, or perhaps-_

"Hey, stop staring off into space and let's get going" Bob said

_Dang it! I wasted my chance. Time for plan B._

Okay guys, you got me, now just-WHAT IS THAT?!" I yelled as I pointed down the path behind them.

_Just like I predicted, they both fell for it, now I have to get out of here._

I began running farther into the gardens, but it wasn't long before they realized what had happened and came charging after me.

_Gah, how am I gonna lose these guys, I'm already starting to run out of energy. What are my options here? I can let them catch me and throw me in prison. I can try to fight, but that probably won't end well seeing as they have weapons. Wait, a corner of the building is coming up, and there are bushes around that corner. All right, it appears that my best option is to hide._

_C'mon, gotta run faster, just a little bit more and….yes, I made it, I just hope they didn't see me._

"Where did he go, Bob?"

"I don't know, he must have run farther in. Let's go, Bill."

_Hah, losers. I guess I should wait here until the heat dies down, but, it would probably be advantageous and more comfortable to sit in a tree rather than a bush._

I promptly climbed into the nearest tree and made myself comfortable on one of the larger branches.

"Hey, buddy."

"GAH!"

"Hey, keep it down, yeah? I'm over here."

I looked around and found a man sitting on the branch directly to my right. He was fairly tall and lean, but still well muscled. He was wearing some kind hooded cape over some light armor.

_How had I missed that?_

"Why are you up here, guy?" He asked

"I could ask you the same question." I replied

"Eh, I was being chased by some loser guards last night, so I had to hide up here to avoid them. Everything's been on high alert out here because of it."

"Ahah, that's funny. I'm up here for the exact same reason."

"Oh, good. That's a relief."

"I beg your pardon?"

"I'm just relieved that you knew the password, because if you didn't, I was gonna have to kill you, haha."

…_What?_

"Yeah, ha…ha, that's…hilarious."

"Why are you acting so nervous? You are one of the thieves that we hired, right?"

"Yeess?"

"Then you've got nothing to worry about. All you need to know is that the job is in one month, your job is to unlock as many doors as possible and in exchange, you can keep whatever loot you find. Oh, and you're to meet up with the rest of the group inside the palace."

"Okay. Um, what exactly was 'the job'?" I said with a guiltily innocent smile

"Didn't they already tell you?" Suspicion clear in his voice

"Well, kinda…sorta…not really."

"That's okay; I hear the employers have been bad about details lately." He said with a sigh "You and the others have been hired to help us accomplish two things; seizing the Fire Emblem, and assassinating the Exalt."

_Oh, good, I thought it was gonna be something difficult. Ugh, what have I gotten myself into?_

**A/N: I'm quite proud of this chapter and it was fun to write as well.**

**Okay, guys; I need you to give me feedback, I don't care if it's through review or PM, I just really need feedback because I don't know if you guys like it, or if it's a total train wreck of a fanfiction. So please give me some kind of feedback.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter Four: Preparations

Chapter Four: Preparations

**(Hershel's POV)**

_Oh no oh no oh no oh no. What am I gonna do? I just unwittingly got hired to help assassinate the Exalt, and if I don't follow through with the job, they'll probably hunt me down and kill me. On the other hand, if I tell Chrom and friends, I'm sure Chrom will be forgiving, but Frederick will throw an axe through my face before I can finish explaining myself._

It had been nearly two hours since the assassin had left and I was still nowhere near to finding a solution to my problem. The best solution I had found so far was taking a boat to a remote island, but that plan seems to end the same way as the others; with me dying an early death.

_Okay, just calm down. First, I need to get out of the palace gardens, but how? The front gate is probably closely guarded due to my incident earlier, but I can't just scale the wall. *sigh* I guess my best bet is the front gate._

_All right, jump down from the tree….ACK, didn't realize how high up I was. Ooh, that's gonna bruise._

_Back to the task at hand. If I remember right, the front gate should be around this corner and down the path a bit…Ah, there it is. Now, how do I get past the guards stationed there, hmmm. Maybe if I hide in the shadows as I sneak past, but they'll be expecting me to walk in the shadows, so perhaps I should walk in the well lit areas to avoid their gaze, but then again, they'll be expecting me to expect them to be watching the shadows, so in reality, they'll be watching the well lit areas, ergo, I should walk in the shadows. But what if they're expecting me to expect that they'll be expecting me to walk in the shadows? But if they are then-_

_Wait, where am I? This isn't the royal gardens, this looks like the middle of the street…..Hmm, I really need to figure out how I do that._

_Well, at least that's one problem solved. Now I need to find somewhere to stay for the night, but how am I going to find an inn when there's no one around to ask? And more importantly, where am I going to find the money to pay for a room? Maybe I can just beg for a free room, no, that'll never work. What am I gonna do?_

"Hi, Hershel." A voice said right next to me

"GAH! Where did you come from, Lissa?

"Well, we saw you standing in the middle of the street and we decided to say hi."

"Against our better judgment." Frederick added

"It's good to see you too, Frederick."

"Where did you go earlier?" Robin asked

_Oh, what do I do? Should I tell them? If I don't the Exalt is going to be killed, but if I do, they'll probably suspect me of being a conspirator, and then I'll get arrested and or executed...errrr...I guess for now I'll just keep it to myself and make sure to tell them later, hopefully in a situation where they don't all have weapons within their reach._

"Well, I was, uh, you know, doing stuff." I answered. I was rewarded with a suspicious glare from Frederick.

"Have a good night, Hershel. I hope we see you again." Chrom said.

"Oh, uh, yeah, you too."

I watched as they walked away until they appeared to be nothing more than specks in the distance. Suddenly I remembered that I had nowhere to go tonight.

_Dang it! Why didn't I follow them? They probably have somewhere I could've stayed. *sigh* I suppose an alleyway isn't too bad a place to sleep._

* * *

**(?'s POV)**

As my consciousness floated in this empty void, I once again contemplated my downfall at **HIS** hands. How had he beaten me? I, who had powers that surpassed those of even a god. How had he destroyed my centuries of hard work and my perfect plan? It was unthinkable, it was impossible, and yet he had done it with nothing more than a few so-called friends and a couple of dusty relics. No matter how many times I run it through my mind, I still cannot even fathom how he had done it. But one thing was for sure, I needed to make preparations for my escape from this void, and when I escaped, I would wreak havoc upon the world he had fought so hard to save, and it was going to be delicious.

* * *

**(Robin's POV)**

Chrom, Lissa, Frederick and I had finally arrived at their destination.

"Here we are! The Shepherds' garrison." Lissa said with a smile.

-Time-Skip-

_Well. _I thought to myself. _The introductions last night went well, I suppose. They're a strange lot, to be sure, but I suppose I should get used to it, seeing as I'm stuck with them now._

_I wonder what I'll need to bring on the trip to Regna Ferox, I guess I'll just bring my sword and my thunder tome, I mean it's not like I'll need anything else, right?_

* * *

**(Hershel's POV)**

I was awoken early in the mornig to the sound of someone grunting and coughing. When I looked around to find the source of the noise that interrupted my extremely manly dreams that definitely had nothing to with rainbow ponies and pink clouds, I found that a man was being beaten and or mugged by two twigs of men.

_How does that happen?_

"Um, excuse me, sirs. Do you mind? You kinda interrupted my sleep."

One of the two thugs turned to me. "Oh, I'm sorry. Here, let me make it up to you."

_ACK! Okay, got kicked in the stomach, was not expecting that._

"Now back off, kid." The thug said

_Okay, I can stand being called kid, or getting kicked in the stomach, but when both of those things happen at once, it means someone's gonna get hurt._

"All right, guys, I'll be on my way. But first, I need to tell you a secret, c'mere."

Just as I had hoped, they both fell for it, and they both came closer to hear the 'secret'

_Morons._

Once they got close enough, I gave the both of them a nice, healthy knuckle sandwich. Once they were on the ground, I gave them both a sharp kick to the stomach, just so that they could have the experience of feeling it firsthand.

_I'm so nice._

Once the two thugs had run away _(were they really that weak?)_, I helped the beaten man up, and I was able to get a better look at him. His skin was very well tanned, He had a long, dark brown ponytail, and his eyes were an electric blue color. He was wearing a simple shirt and pants, a leather duster, a wide brimmed hat, and a pair of worn leather boots.

"Hmph, I could've taken care of it myself." The man grumbled

"So why didn't you?" I replied

"I have my reasons, now go away."

"A 'thank you' would've been nice." I said as he was walking away.

"Fine. The tournament to decide the head khan of Ferox is going to be soon, and I hear the khans will pay well for strong fighters, so if you have talent with a weapon, I suggest you go. That's my thank you."

"What makes you think I need money?"

"…You were sleeping in an alleyway."

"Point taken."

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to be going." And with that, he left.

_Well, I don't exactly have talent with a weapon, but I've got no better choices, and I'm sure I can practice on my way to this 'Ferox' place. But before I can leave, I'm going to need to get a map, a weapon, some food, a waterskin, some new clothes and anything else that might be useful._

_I have to wonder, though; who was that man?_

**A/N: Well, another chapter finished. I didn't like this one quite as much as the last one, but I guess it was okay. And I'm sorry Robin's POV was so short, I just didn't want to do the entire scene with Robin being introduced to the Shepherds, but I wanted to show that they got to the garrison and that the introductions and the announcement of the trip to Regna Ferox happened.**

**Also, I would appreciate it if you guys could send in some ideas for a new title for this story, because I'm not really satisfied with the current title, but it was the only thing I could think of though.**

**Please tell me what you thought of this chapter through either review or PM.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5: Battle for the Northroad

Chapter Five: Battle for the Northroad

**(Hershel's POV)**

_Whew, just barely made it. I don't understand what they're so bent out of shape about, I mean, it was just a waterskin…and a bit a jerky…and a sword…and I might have borrowed a couple sets of clothes too, but it's not THAT big of a deal. And I'll make sure to pay them back later...probably…maybe._

Earlier that morning, I had 'borrowed' a couple sets of the same outfit, and man, did I look good. I was wearing a simple white shirt with a leather vest over it, a pair of black pants, a pair of black steel toed boots, a black hooded cape and a pair of fingerless gloves. Also, I had my white hair slicked back.

Now that I had my supplies, it was time to hit the road, and hit the road I did. For reasons unknown to me, Naga had seen fit to make me trip on the smallest pebble in the road, which in turn, made me go down for a spectacular face plant.

Pretending that it never happened, I stood up, brushed myself off, and I was back on the road, albeit with slightly less enthusiasm.

As I walked down the road, I took this moment to appreciate the nature. There were trees off to either side of the road with sunlight filtering through the leaves, there was a rabbit hiding in a bush, there were deer grazing in a field behind the trees, and there were birds chirping in the trees. Everything looked perfect.

I walked for a little while longer when suddenly there was a rustling noise in the bushes off to my left. I drew my sword from the scabbard at my waist and slowly made my way towards the bushes. When I got close to it something jumped out of the bush. I swung my sword wildly in an attempt to defend myself. My sword hit something and I felt victorious. As I stopped swinging in order to see what it was, I found myself face to face with a Pegasus…I didn't feel quite so victorious, all of a sudden. As I inspected the Pegasus further, I noticed I had put a gash in its leg.

"Oh, heh, sorry about that." I apologized

The Pegasus snorted and promptly attempted to trample me.

"Gah! Hey, I said I was sorry! Could you please stop?!"

It finally ceased its attempts to kill me, after which it flew away.

_What was that all about? Oh well, there's nothing life can throw at me that can ruin my optimism._

* * *

_Oh how wrong I was._

I had been walking through the forest, minding my own business, when I happened upon some guys with red glow-y eyes fighting Chrom and some of his friends. I figured I would just walk around the battle when one of the weird guys spotted me and decided I was a prime target. I drew my sword and waited for him to come to me.

_He's raising his axe, and now it's coming down. Dodge to the side, and stab the chest. Hah, no match for me and my superior skills._

I slid my sword out of his chest and let his body flop to the ground. I began to walk away, when something grabbed my ankle. I turned around in horror and found that the guy I had just stabbed was still alive.

…_..KILL IT WITH FIRE!_

I panicked and did the first thing that came to mind; I kicked it in the face, after which I proceeded to cut its head off. As soon as I finished, its entire body dissolved into purple smoke.

_What is going on?! What was that?! Was it some kind of monster? Where did it come from? Why was it here?_

During my fight with that thing, Chrom and friends had finished off the rest of them. Given the circumstances, I decided that it would probably be best to get as much information from Chrom as I could.

"Hey, Chrom, wait up!" I called as I ran towards them.

"Who goes there?" Chrom said as they all drew their weapons and looked towards me.

"Whoa, take it easy there, guys. It's just me."

"Hershel?" Chrom said, recognition showing on his face.

"Yeah, it's me, and I have a couple of questions that I need answered."

* * *

**(Robin's POV)**

_Who is this Hershel, guy? I met him back when I met Chrom, but I still have no idea who he is, or if he's even an ally. From what I've seen, he seems to be on our side, but that could change at any moment. For all we know, he could be an assassin, planning to murder us in our sleep. Ugh, I'm starting to sound like Frederick._

_But it's still frustrating to not know anything about him. I can't make any plans or take counter measures without knowing his fighting style or knowing how he thinks. He hasn't done anything yet, but he could try anything at anytime._

_I still don't understand how Chrom can trust him so implicitly. But then again, he did the same for me without second thought, despite Frederick's paranoia. So I guess I should give him a chance like Chrom gave me. But I'm going to be keeping an eye on him regardless._

* * *

**(Hershel's POV)**

"So, what questions did you want to ask me?" Chrom said as he sat down.

After we met on the battlefield, we had decided it would be best to make camp for the night.

Currently, Chrom and I were in the tent used for meetings.

"Well, first off, I would like to know exactly what those things were."

"Those are undead warriors that we have dubbed 'The Risen'. They're more resilient than humans and they appear to want to kill anything and everything."

_No crap, Sherlock._

"Where did they come from?"

"We don't know exactly where they came from, but the night before we met you, we witnessed them coming through a giant blue…thing in the sky."

_Well that helps a lot._

"Just one more question; why do you trust me as much as you do?"

"Well, I've been given no reason to distrust you, and you don't seem to be an enemy."

"Right. Well, I thank you for answering my questions, but I must be on my way."

"What? Where are you going?"

"I have places to be and things to do. And so, I bid you farewell." I said as I started walking out of the tent.

"Uh, okay. Goodbye."

_Yeeeaah, I didn't sound shifty at all, no siree. Not the tiniest bit._

* * *

**(?'s POV)**

Hah, I have finally found a way to watch the outside world from this prison of solitude.

Hmm, so far things seem to be progressing well, if things keep going at this rate, my plan will come to fruition and I will be released back into the world. But there is one minor problem; it seems this 'Marth' person is trying to interfere with my plan. But no matter, I'll just send more presents to interfere with his plans.

**A/N: Sorry that there wasn't much action, but I promise that there will be action at some point.**

**Also, I was wondering what pairings you guys want me to put in here, because I don't know which ones to do. So let me know through PM or review, which pairings you want.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	6. Chapter Six: Shank or Shiv?

Chapter Six: Shank or Shiv?

**(Hershel's POV)**

I walked out of the tent Chrom and I had met in and looked around the camp, I noticed that there were quite a few more people than I remembered being with Chrom. I chalked it up to his ability to trust people too much, and continued on my way.

As I was leaving the campsite, I glanced over my shoulder one last time and noticed that Robin was staring at me with a wary look. When he noticed that I was looking at him, he gave me nod and walked away.

_Weirdo_

I left the camp and started making my way through the forest until I found a clearing in which to make my own encampment. I built a fire and then just sat there, staring into the flames and thinking about my life thus far.

_Let's see, I woke up in the middle of the woods a few days ago, got smacked in the face with a log, traveled to Ylisstol with Chrom, unintentionally got hired to help with an assassination plot, and started traveling towards Ferox in hopes of getting a lot of money…I really need to do something that doesn't make me seem like a total scum bag._ _Maybe if I save some orphans, or babies, or baby orphans._

_Step 1: Find baby orphans_

_Step 2: Make sure they're in danger_

_Step 3: Save them_

_Yeah, that's a solid plan right there. Well, better get some sleep so that I'll have enough energy to save those baby orphans tomorrow._

* * *

"HAH, HYAH, HIYAH."

I had woken up fairly early that morning, and quickly repacked my stuff, after which I decided to train with my sword. I thought I was doing pretty well; I could hit the tree almost every time!

_I'm so awesome_

"Um, excuse me."

I whirled around to find the source of the voice, and was shocked to find that the voice came from a man standing behind me that looked exactly like me!

"Who are you, and why do you look like me?" I said as I gripped my sword a little tighter.

"What?...Oh, I'm sorry, just give me a second." He said

Before my very eyes, he started to…change. It was as if his entire body was just melting.

_Nasty._

When his 'transformation' was complete, he looked completely different; rather than the outfit he was wearing when he looked like me, he now had on a blue long sleeved shirt, over which he had on some light chainmail and over THAT he had a leather jacket that was tight around his torso, but then seemed to flare around the waist.

He had white leggings with brown boots, silver knee guards and around his waist he wore two blue belts.

_I don't think there's anything more excessive than that._

In addition to all that, he had accessories, specifically jewelry, which included: three silver rings on his right hand, two on his left, small silver studs in his ears, three necklaces that were red, blue and purple, a simple silver chain around his neck, and to top it all off, there was a long silver chain wrapped around his head twice like some kind of headdress.

_I stand corrected…_

And lastly, I noticed that his skin was extremely pale, his eyes were blue, and his hair was strawberry blonde, but it could easily be mistaken for orange.

"Uh, hello?"

I was snapped out of my thoughts by the mysterious stranger.

"You've been standing there and staring at me for the past few minutes. Are you okay?" He said with a raised eyebrow

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine, it's nothing."

_Curse me and my genius, over analyzing mind._

"But that's beside the point; why did you look like me and then not look like me?"

"Trade secret." He said with a smirk. "By the way, I'm Frey Ferris."

"Hershel Wile." I responded as I shook his hand

"…But anyway, I approached you because I seem to have run out of water and 'cause I….."

"What? I couldn't hear that last part."

"I need a travel partner." he said quietly

"Ehhh, no." I replied

"What? Why?!" He said, surprise evident on his face

"Because I don't need you dragging me down."

"Do you at least have some water you could spare for me?"

"No, but there's a lake about five minutes to the west if you want to get your own water."

"Ah, I see, thank you. (Douche)"

"What was that?"

"Nothing, don't worry about it."

"Whatever you say. See you around."

And with that I continued on my way, determined to get to Ferox soon.

* * *

**Two day later**

_Ah, this must be Ferox, it's a little chillier than I expected, but at least I'm here._

The last two days had gone by uneventfully. All that had happened was training every morning and night and a lot of walking.

Ferox was a lot different than I expected, I thought it would be more like Ylisse, but it was totally different. There was beautiful snow everywhere, and it was at least two feet deep in every direction. To either side of the road there were dense forests of evergreen trees capped with snow. And in front of me, I could see a stone structure coming up and I assumed it was probably the gate into Ferox.

_I wonder what the people of Ferox are like; I hope they're like the Ylisseans._

"Hey, you, stop where you are!" A guard yelled as he ran towards me.

"Oh, good day. Could you direct me to where the man in charge is?"

"You're under arrest, scum."

…_.What?_

"I must have misheard you; I thought you said I was under arrest."

"No, you heard me right. Now, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way."

"Can I at least ask why I'm being arrested?"

"Playing innocent, huh? Fine, there were over thirty eye witnesses who saw you leaving the West-Khan's residence last night with a bag full of valuable goods."

_Well, this is a fine mess. I wonder if I can trick him the same way I tricked the guards in Ylisse._

"Hey, what's that behind you?!"

_Well, the Feroxi guards are obviously better than the Ylissean guards. I can't believe he didn't even turn around…Ferox sucks._

I was currently sitting in a dark prison cell, and as far as prison cells go, it was pretty nice. The floor was pretty clean, there was a mattress on the bed, and the walls were a soothing shade of grey.

_Now that I'm done admiring the room, how do I get out of here? Let's take a quick look around; there are bars on the window, so that's a no-go. The walls are made of stone; I don't think I can get through that. And the door is made of thick metal. Hm, I wonder if I can make a prison shank out of one of the legs of the bed…wait, is it a shank or a shiv? I should probably know that now that I'm in prison._

"Wow, I'm surprised you haven't made a prison shank yet" A voice whispered through the little window in the door.

_Aha, so it is a shank…wait a minute._

"Who are you?" I answered back in confusion

"It's me." The voice responded

"That doesn't answer my question."

"It's Frey Ferris."

"Who?...Oh! You're that one guy that was wearing my face…you know, come to think of it, that was a real douche bag move."

"Yeeaah. But anyway, I'm here to bust you out." He said with bit of nervousness in his voice

"Two questions: Why and how?"

"I've impersonated one of the guards and I stole the keys. As for the why, well, it might be my fault that you got arrested in the first place…" He answered, with a nervous chuckle.

"How is it your fault?" I asked

"Well, I might have kinda used your face while I was fleeing from the scene of the crime." He responded, guilt lacing his voice.

"…Scum bucket…"

"Yeah, umm, oh, hey look, the door is open now."

"Yeah, whatever, let's just get out while we can."

* * *

**(?'s POV)**

How interesting. It seems that no one but Marth knows what I'm planning, or even that I'm the one planning them! Sometimes I have to wonder if it's worth all this effort just to destroy creatures that are this unintelligent, but then again, it would be merciful to obliterate them.

On a different note, I would love some company right now. I wonder if I can seal someone in here with me. Hmm, I'll put some thought into that later…

* * *

**A/N: I apologize for the lateness of this chapter, but in my defense, I got mono, and then my dad and my sister both went in for surgery. That's a good excuse….right?**

**Okay guys, I need to your input; should I put the Einherjar in this story? Let me know through PM or review, I would also appreciate feedback on how I'm doing with this story.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	7. Chapter 7: Confusion

Chapter Seven: Confusion

**(Robin's POV)**

"What do you think, Robin?" Chrom asked

"Yeah, I guess we could help out, I see nothing wrong with trying in any case." I answered

We were nearing Ferox when a group of traveling merchants, fearing for their goods, had asked us to help them. Apparently, there was a master thief on the loose that had not only robbed one of the khans, he had also escaped from prison just a few hours ago. The merchants had given us a crudely drawn wanted poster and told us that the thief was supposedly leaving town soon.

"All right then, I'll gather everyone and bring them here for a quick briefing after which we'll search the surrounding area." Chrom said and quickly left to find everyone.

I took another look at the wanted poster and couldn't help but think that the thief looked slightly familiar.

_Must be my imagination._

* * *

**(Hershel's POV)**

My life officially sucks. Right now I'm hiding out in a cave a little ways outside of Ferox, I'm a fugitive, and to top it all off, Frey followed me for whatever reason and he had the nerve to make himself look like me.

"Why do you have to look like me, again?" I asked with a sigh

"Because I can and because I want to."

"…I can respect those reasons…" I said "But what do we do now? I mean, we can't hide forever."

"Weeelll, we could just grab the bag of goods that I stole and hightail it over to another country." He said while scratching his chin.

"Remind me why you stole the goods in the first place."

"Because...I could and because I wanted to?" He said, making his answer sound like a question

"You know, even though I think those are respectable excuses, that does not mean you can use them for everything."

"But-"

He was cut off by someone outside the cave. "We know you're in there, thief. So come out or we're coming in!"

"What do we do?" Frey whispered

"How the heck am I supposed to know?!" I angrily whispered back. "You're the reason we're in this situation in the first place!"

_GAH! What can I do except surrender? There has to be another way!_

"I have a plan." Frey whispered with a smug grin on his face

_Oh? All right, let's see what he does. _"Go for it." I whispered

Frey stood up and began his plan. "We surrender!" He yelled

…_..WhhaaaaaaaaAAAAATTTTT! That was the plan!? Ugh, it's not like we could do anything else though, I guess._

We walked to the exit of the cave and to my surprise, there were no Feroxi guards, instead, I found Chrom, Robin and the rest of the Shepherds waiting outside.

"Oh…hi Chrom." I said a little awkwardly.

"Hershel? You're the thief? And why are there two of you?"

"Well, funny story." I began "I got arrested for the theft, but my doppelganger is the one that actually committed the theft."

"Throwing me under the bus? That's low." Frey said.

I turned to look at Frey "…The heck is a bus?" I asked

"Ya know…I'm not sure." Frey said with a thoughtful face as he scratched his chin

"O…kay, but that still doesn't answer why there are two of you to begin with."

"it's because we're uh, twins! Yeah, twins." Frey said with a bit of panic in his voice. He leaned over to me and whispered "Play along if you want your cut of the goods."

_I was getting a cut of the goods? Somehow it seems wrong to take them since they were stolen…but what do I care? It's not like they can pin anything on me, now that I have a 'twin'._

"Yeah, we're twins." I said with a convincing smile.

"How come you never said anything about a twin before?" Robin asked with suspicion written all over his face.

"First of all; you never asked. Secondly; I had amnesia, remember?"

"I suppose." Robin said with only slightly less suspicion.

"You know Robin; you're starting to act like Frederick more and more." I said

"I resent that!" Frederick and Robin said in unison.

"Well," Chrom began "Regardless of whether he's your twin or not, you did admit that he committed the crime, so we're going to have to turn him over to the Feroxi soldiers."

"I would like to add that Hershel was my accomplice." Frey said

* * *

The prison door made a loud clanging sound as it closed.

"Great job, Frey." I said as I glared at him. "Now we're both in jail." I looked around the cell. _I think this is the same cell I was in before. Mmm, I missed you, soothing grey walls._

"Well I couldn't let you out of my sight; you might've left without me."

"Why do you keep following me anyway?"

"I told you back when we met in the forest, I need a travel partner."

"Why?"

"Because."

*sigh* "Whatever." _I better get to work on a prison shank._

* * *

**(?'s POV)**

Haha, excellent, I have successfully trapped someone else in here with me. I now have company to entertain me.

"Um, excuse me but, who are you, where are you, why can't I see you, and where am I?"

"Who I am is irrelevant at this point, I'm over here, you can't see me because we are essentially nothing and we have no bodies, and you are in a void of pain and despair."

"Oh…but if we don't have bodies, then why can I hear you?"

"Because it's not so much hearing as it is telepathy."

"Ah, I see. Well, I would love to stay, but I really must be getting back to my own place and time."

"You will do nothing of the sort, I brought you here for a purpose, and you will not leave until that purpose is fulfilled. Besides, Jagen, nobody will miss you, and trust me, I mean no one."

"I'm not so sure-"

"DO NOT DEFY ME!"

"Oh…okay."

_Excellent, I have already bent him to my will. The world will soon be mine._

* * *

**A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. This is probably my second favorite chapter and it was pretty fun to write. Tell me what you thought about this chapter through review or PM, let me know what I can improve on as well.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	8. Chapter 8: Traveling Partners

Chapter Eight: Traveling Partners

**(Hershel's POV)**

"C'mon Frey, you can do this, you're almost there."

Frey was currently trying to pick the lock using wires from the bed frame, so far he had managed to break two pieces of wire, but I had a good feeling about this piece.

"I think it's almost unlocked." Frey said.

We sat in silence for a few minutes as Frey kept working, eventually, I heard a click.

"Did I just hear the door unlock?" I asked Frey.

"No, that was the sound of the wire breaking."

_Gosh dang it, Frey._

"Now what are we supposed to do?" I asked

"Well, we could kill the prison guards with the shank you made."

"I would rather it not come to that, but if we can't find another way out, then we'll go with that plan."

_Let's see, the only ways in or out of this cell are the door and the barred window. So far, the door hasn't been very agreeable. And the window doesn't seem to be much better._

The cell door squeaked open and the two of us turned to look. There were several heavily armed Feroxi soldiers waiting outside the door.

"Get up, scum. You are to be brought before the West-Khan for your final judgment." One of the guards said with a sneer.

"What if we refuse?" Frey asked

The guard merely tapped the hilt of the sword at his waist.

"Then by all means, lead the way." I said

We were handcuffed and led out of the prison and into a small town where everyone looked like they were cold and no one looked like they were happy. As we walked through the town, I could see the people looking at us, whispering to each other and glancing at us out of the corners of their eyes.

"They're looking at us." Frey whispered

"They're probably only looking at us because there are more than just one or two guards escorting us." I replied

"You're probably right; it's still a little unnerving though."

"Just don't pay attention-" I was cut off by a soldier delivering a quick jab to my stomach.

"Quit your whispering!" The guard said.

I kept walking, but I was having a hard time breathing.

"Heh, loser, you can't even take-" The same guard jabbed Frey in the stomach.

"You too." The guard said

_Hah, who's the loser now?_

* * *

We finally reached the West-Khan's residence. Now when I think 'Residence', I'm thinking a mansion or something, but this was no mansion, it was a full-fledged fortress!

_How the heck did Frey manage to break into this place?! It's enormous! And I'm sure there's no shortage of guards in there. It seems like it would be nigh impossible to get in there, let alone steal from the treasury…I'll have to ask him about that later._

While I was lost in thought, the guards had led us through the 'residence', and we now stood before the double doors to the throne room. Two of the guards opened the doors and ushered us in while two more guards followed behind us with their hands on their weapons. We walked towards the throne upon which sat a dark skinned man with an eye patch. The guards brought us closer and forced us to our knees. We looked up at the man we presumed to be the West-Khan and we suddenly realized the gravity of the situation once we saw the scowl on his face. The three of us stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity until I spoke up.

"Uh…hi." I said nervously

Frey looked at me like I was crazy, and the man just stared harder. We stood in silence for a little while longer, when suddenly, the man looked like he was going to say something, but he didn't say anything, instead he began to laugh hysterically. Frey and I looked at each other with raised eyebrows, then back at the man.

"Ahaha, nope, couldn't keep a straight face." He said as his laughter died down. "Sorry about that, someone dared me to not talk and keep a straight face for thirty minutes, but I couldn't do it."

"Wait, that's why you were staring us down?" Frey asked

"Do you have a problem with that?" the man asked, suddenly serious.

"Ah, no, no problem." Frey said

"Good." The man said "Oh, but where are my manners; my name is Basilio, and I'm the West-Khan, but I'm sure you already knew that."

_Nope._

"Now, I had you brought here because I must address an issue. You two stole from my treasury and normally, I would have you both hung in the middle of the town square, but I feel that you two could be useful to me, after all, you managed to get in and out of my palace without being seen by any of the guards, and you almost got away without being seen too. Because of this, I've concluded that you must be master thieves, and I am in need a few more thieves. So, here is my deal, I'll pardon your crimes, and in return, you will work for me. What do you say?"

"What's the alternative?" I asked

"Certain death."

_Hm, killing seems to be the quick way to resolve things here in Ferox, but at least they're honest and to the point._

"Well, I think I speak for both of us when I say that we accept your terms." Frey said.

"Excellent, I'll still be keeping an eye on you, though." Basilio said "Lon'qu, please escort them to their quarters."

A man stepped out of the shadows next to the throne and motioned for us to follow him.

_How long has he been there?_

This man, Lon'qu, led us through the palace until we came to stop in front of a door.

"These are your quarters." Lon'qu said

"Uh, thanks." I said

He merely nodded and walked back the way we came.

_Quiet fellow._

Frey and I entered the room; it seemed to be exactly like our old prison cell, except with proper beds, some furniture, and a couple of candles.

_At least it has those soothing grey walls._

"Well, I think it's about time we started getting used to these types of rooms." Frey said

"I think you're right." I told him "I doubt this was the last adventure in which you and I will get thrown in prison."

"So, does this mean that we're traveling partners?" He asked hopefully

"…Yeah, I guess so." I answered

"Awesome." He said with excitement in his eyes.

_It looks like we'll have a long day ahead of us tomorrow._

* * *

**A/N: Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it, Remember to leave feedback through PM or review.**

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	9. Chapter 9: A Deal with the Devil

Chapter Nine: A Deal with the Devil

**(Hershel's POV)**

_What is this place, and why is it so empty?_

I was standing in a big white room, there was absolutely nothing distinguishing about it, it was just a white room. As I surveyed the room, looking for a door, a featureless apparition appeared.

"Hello." It said. From the sound of its voice, I deduced that it was probably a he.

"Uh, hi. If you don't mind my asking, who are you, and where am I?" I asked

"This place is a prison of sorts, and I its sole prisoner. And as for who I am, I am a long forgotten shadow of the past, you may call me Omofrisit." He answered "But where are my manners. Please, take a seat."

I looked around to find somewhere other than the floor to sit and found nothing. Just as I was about to ask where I was supposed to sit, I looked back at Omofrisit and saw that he was already sitting at a white table with matching chairs. I decided not to question it and took the seat across from Omofrisit.

"Uh, thanks, but, why am I here, did I do something wrong?"

"You've done nothing wrong; you're here because I summoned you." He explained

"Oh…I don't remember being 'summoned' though."

"There's no reason you should remember it. I summoned your mind while you slept."

"Okay, why did you summon me in particular?"

"I didn't, I summoned many people, and you were merely the first to answer the call." He explained. "But enough with the questions, I summoned you here because I wish to ask for your help in freeing me from my prison, because, as you can imagine, it gets rather boring sitting in a white room for ages."

"Yeah, I'll bet that does get pretty boring, but what reason do I have for helping you? And you said this was a prison, so for all I know, you're in here for a really good reason." I said

"I understand where you're coming from, but I'm merely here because I had a…disagreement with a past king, so he overreacted and had me sent here." He said

_That…sounded rather suspicious…_

"Hey, it's your decision whether or not to believe me, but I am telling the truth." He said

_Huh, his statement was well timed; it was almost as if he could hear my thoughts._

"I can."

_Oh, so you can read all of my thoughts?_

"Yes."

"Then what am I thinking of?"

"You're thinking of how much you hate asparagus."

_Oh, he's good._

"Thank you."

_DANG IT._

"Can we please get back to the original topic?" He asked with a sigh.

"Oh, uh, sure….um….What were we talking about?"

"I was asking for your help in getting me out of here."

"Oh, right, I knew that, just had to test you."

"…Right. Anyway, are you going to help me or not?"

"That depends, what am I getting out of this?" I asked

"Hmm, power and riches?"

"It's a deal!" I said quickly

"Great, let's get down to business then. I have a plan in mind already, but it has a lot of inner workings, so you'll need to come back to see me often."

"How often are we talking?" I asked as I leaned forward in my chair.

"Somewhere between two and three times a day."

"WHAT! I can't do that, I have stuff to do. If I come back here three times a day, I'd be spending almost all of my time here!"

"Well, yeah, but it's not like you have anything important to do."

"Be that as it may, I still like to be conscious for more than a few hours every day."

"Fine, if you see it as THAT much of a problem, I'll try to find another way." He said with a sigh as he put his head in his hands. "I'll bring you back tomorrow night; I should be able to do something by then."

"All right, cool, now how do I get out of here?" I asked, getting up from my chair.

"How do you think?" He said, pointing to the right. "You go through the only door here."

I looked to where he was pointing and saw a pair of large black double doors.

_I swear that wasn't there before._

"It wasn't." He said

_Dang it! I forgot you could do that._

"Well, that's your mistake."

_Yeah, whatever, I'm leaving now._

He didn't respond. I looked to the where he was sitting and found that he was no longer there. I shrugged and walked towards the door. As I got closer to the doors, it seemed that they got bigger and bigger the closer I got to them. When I finally reached them, they were so large that I couldn't even grab the handle.

I tried scaling the door to get to the handle, but it seemed to be coated in a slippery liquid. Just as I was about to give up on trying to open the door, my foot hit a button on the bottom of the door frame. I looked up, expecting the door to open, instead, a trap door beneath my feet opened and I began my descent.

_Oh, real mature, Omofrisit._

"_Sorry, I couldn't resist." _His voice said in my head

_GOSH DANGIT, MAN._

* * *

I was shaken awake by Frey.

"C'mon, get up, Lon'qu came to get us for something, and we'd better not keep him waiting." Frey said

"Lon'…qu?" I asked groggily

"Yeah, don't you remember? He's the Khan's lackey."

_Oh yeah…great…_

* * *

**(Omofrisit's POV)**

_Yes! I finally found someone dumb enough to agree, this is gonna be great…it does concern me that he's that dumb though…oh well, with my coaching he'll be able to make the right choices._

"Jagen! You're services are no longer necessary, you may go home now."

"Oh, thank you, but…how do I get home?"

_My goodness, why do I always end up with the idiots?_

"It's through the giant black double doors, Jagen."

"Ah, I see. Well, I'll be going now."

I watched as he exited the doors. As soon as he was gone, I let out a sigh of relief. At least I wouldn't have to deal with his uselessness anymore.

* * *

**(Marth's POV, a long time ago)**

Today has been a fantastic day, the sun is shining, the birds are singing, the kingdom is peaceful, and my good mood unstoppable. Today, life seems to be a game that-

"Sire, Jagen has returned!"

-just can't be won…

* * *

**A/N: Hey guys, sorry this is so late, my computer crashed and I lost all of my notes, so I had to get my computer back up and running and then I had to write this from scratch.**

**Sorry to any Jagen fans out there, I just always found him to be extremely useless, thus the bashing.**

**Please leave feedback, either through PM or review.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	10. Chapter Ten: Training

Chapter Ten: Training

* * *

**(Hershel's POV)**

"So, um, where are we going, Lon'qu?" I asked

"Basilio has asked that you two be trained. After all, we can't have mediocre soldiers." He answered

"Who says we're mediocre?" Frey asked

Lon'qu merely glanced at us over his shoulder with one eyebrow raised.

_Point taken._

We stayed silent as we walked through the halls of the palace, which was very impressive, but not like other palaces. It was made of simple grey bricks and the decorations consisted of nothing more than torches and windows, but the place was enormous and made you feel rather small if you looked up at the ceiling.

We finally reached the doors to what I assumed was the training room. Lon'qu opened the doors and I expected to see a few practice dummies and some wooden swords laying about, but instead, I was greeted with the sight of dozens of people practicing with each other, tons of practice dummies lined up near the walls and there wasn't a single wooden practice sword to be found, instead there were numerous iron weapons of every kind; there were swords, lances, axes, bows and arrows, knives and a bunch of other weapons that I couldn't identify.

"So, where would you like to start?" Lon'qu asked as he turned to us.

Frey and I scanned the room a few more times before we answered.

"Ah, I'd like to start with knives, if that's okay." Frey said, still looking around the room in awe.

"Certainly. You'll find the knives over next to the swords, and the close combat instructor should be near there as well." Lon'qu said

Frey started towards the knives before almost getting skewered by someone's lance. After that, he was careful to skirt around the edges of the room.

Lon'qu turned towards me, expecting my answer.

_Well, I've already trained a little bit with a sword, but on the other hand, there are a lot of weapons that might be easier to wield and to carry with me. Hmmm…..I guess for now, I'll go with swords and if I want to use something else later then I can try that out._

"I'll try swords." I told Lon'qu.

"Very well. The swords are over this way, and I will be your instructor." He said

_Really? Huh, didn't expect that._

We walked over to a barrel filled with iron swords, Lon'qu drew two from the barrel and tossed one to me, I promptly missed it and it clattered to the floor.

_Dangit._

I picked the sword up off the floor and turned to face Lon'qu. Before I could react, he lunged at me and scraped my ribs.

"Lesson number one: Never let your guard down, regardless of the situation." He said.

"Okay, that's all well and good, but you didn't have to go and slice me open!" I said

"You're over-reacting." He said simply

"Well maybe I am, but it doesn't change the fact that—GAHH!" I was interrupted by a cut to my leg.

"Lesson number one!" He said

_Oh, so he's gonna be that guy, huh? Well fine._

I got back into my fighting stance, wincing slightly at the pain in my leg, and prepared to fight. I stared him down for a while before making a swipe at his leg. He easily blocked it and proceeded to kick me to the floor.

"Lesson number two: Don't leave yourself open after a stroke." He said.

_Easier said than done._

I took a swipe at his leg as I was getting up; once again, he blocked with extreme ease and sliced my forearm.

_Gosh Dangit!_

We continued like this for several hours, taking short breaks every now and then. By the time we were done, I had cuts and bruises on every part of my body, I was exhausted and I hadn't managed to strike Lon'qu even once.

We decided to call it quits for the day and get some sleep. As we walked to the barrels of weapons to put our swords away, an idea struck me, I smiled to myself and kept walking. When we reached the barrel of swords, Lon'qu put his away and I moved to do the same. I lifted my sword to put it away, but instead of placing it in the barrel, I swung it to my right and struck Lon'qu's arm. I looked over at him and realized that I had not hit his arm; he had pulled an axe out of a different barrel and blocked my strike. My feeling of victory had vanished in an instant and was replaced with a feeling of depression.

"Good try, but you didn't really expect to catch me off guard with such a simple tactic, did you?"

_What a douche._

I accepted my defeat and placed the sword in the barrel.

Lon'qu and I found Frey by the practice dummies, practicing his knife throwing. I watched as he threw his knives with deadly accuracy.

_Glad to see one of us made some progress today._

We watched until his instructor declared that he was done for the day. Frey put the knives away and walked over to us. He looked like he hadn't even broken a sweat during his training.

"Hey, Hershel. How did training with Lon'qu go?" He asked.

I simply glared at him.

"That bad, huh?" He said as he began to notice my many cuts and bruises. "Well, I had a good day at least. By the end of my training for today, I was able to accurately throw my knives."

I sighed and said nothing and merely gestured for Lon'qu to lead the way. He did so and we began our walk back to the room.

As we walked down the halls, I thought about the figure in my dream.

_He had called himself Omofrisit, right? Why did I feel like I should recognize that name, it seemed so familiar yet it also seemed so new and strange. And now that I've thought about it, his voice was awfully familiar too. Where do I know it from? Gah, it'll do me no good thinking about right now, I'm already physically exhausted as it is, I don't want to mentally exhaust myself too._

I was roused from my thoughts by Lon'qu, who announced that we had reached the room.

_Ah, finally, I'll get to rest. I'm so tired I could fall asleep right here._

I was about to enter the room when Lon'qu stopped me. I turned to look at him in confusion.

"What's the problem?" I asked

"You need to go to the infirmary to make sure none of those cuts are infected." He answered

_SON OF A—_

* * *

**A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, because I really enjoyed writing this one. Remember to leave feedback either through review or PM.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	11. Chapter 11: Another 'Dream'

Chapter Eleven: Another 'Dream'

**(Hershel's POV)**

After my trip to the infirmary, I returned to my room and I was finally able to get some sleep. As soon as I closed my eyes, I found myself in the white room once more. I looked around and saw that the table and chairs were still present, but the doors were not.

"Hello again." A voice said from behind me.

I turned around to find that it was Omofrisit, but this time he wasn't entirely featureless; He now had something resembling a face, but it wasn't quite right. The eyes had no pupils, the nose was only half formed and only half of his mouth could open.

"Hello, I guess." I said as I visibly cringed at his appearance.

"Oh, I'm sorry; my new face must have startled you, but don't worry, this isn't the final product, it's still a work in progress." He said with as much of a smile as he could make. "But that's not why I've called you here; I called you here because I have found a way to be in constant contact with you."

"Great. What is it?" I asked.

"Well, I'm going to implant myself in your mind so that I can give you instructions and advice whenever you need them." He said

"…Is there any other way?" I asked hopefully.

"No, I'm afraid there's not, but it will only be temporary anyway. After I complete this project…" He said while gesturing to his face. "I will be able to take on a physical form and interact with you face-to-face."

"Ah, I see. And how long will it take you to complete your 'project'?" I asked

"I'd say a couple of weeks, but who knows? It could take anywhere from a few days to a few years. After all, replicating the human body isn't as easy as it looks."

"Okay, well, can you get the implant done so I can get back to sleeping. I have a feeling that I'll need all the energy I can get." I said.

"Ah, quite right, let me just…" He cut off mid-sentence.

I watched him for a while, wondering if he was going to finish his sentence. After a while I got bored of watching him and decided to see if there was anything new around the room…nope, nothing new. I looked back at Omofrisit, but he had vanished.

_Gaahhh, where did he go? I still need to get out of here!_

_**Don't worry, I'm right here. I finished the implant while you weren't looking.**_

_Well thanks for letting me know before I panicked._

_**Hey, there's no need for sarcasm. Now if you'll just let me concentrate, I need to transfer my things to my new place of residence.**_

_Yeah, whatever._

I waited quietly while he moved his things, but then a thought struck me.

_Hey, if you're going to take on a physical form later, will that mean that I've fulfilled my end of the bargain?_

_**Not quite. It's true that I'll have escaped my prison, but my magic will still be stuck in this white room.**_

_Oh…okay, I guess that makes sense._

_**Good, now if you would like to leave, the exit is over that way.**_

_I can't see which way you're pointing…_

_**Behind you.**_

I turned around and saw that the exit was indeed there, but it was a bit different this time; instead of the massive doors that were here last time, it was just a regular sized door. I walked to the door and eyed it warily, remembering what happened last time.

_**Oh, come one, just do it.**_

_Fine!_

I turned the doorknob only to find that it was locked. Just as I was about to ask Omofrisit about this, the floor opened up beneath me.

_**I'm sorry, I couldn't resist…again.**_

* * *

I woke up to the sound of someone knocking on the door.

"Wake up. It's time to train. You have five minutes to get ready." Lon'qu's voice drifted through the door.

I sat up and looked over at Frey's bed as I stretched. He wasn't awake yet. I walked over to his bed and tried to shake him awake, he still wasn't waking up. I pulled the covers off of him and saw that he didn't look like me; I guess he could only do that while he was awake. After I pulled the covers off, I tried a few different methods of waking him up, none of which worked.

I sat on my bed I tried to think of more ways I could wake him up. Just as I had found a method that might work, I heard Lon'qu's voice outside the door tell us that time was up. He started to open the door and I panicked. I ran over to Frey and threw the covers back onto him just as Lon'qu entered he room.

"Let's go, we have a lot to work on today." Lon'qu said, just as stone faced as ever.

He looked over at the lump under the covers that was Frey and started towards him. I quickly blocked his way and was rewarded with a scowl.

"What's the meaning of this?" He asked.

"Uh, well, you see, um, Frey has a, uh, sickness, and I just wouldn't want you to catch it." I said with some hesitation and a nervous laugh.

"He should go the infirmary then." Lon'qu said

"Oh, well, he can't because, umm-" I was cut off by Frey's voice coming from the heap of blankets.

"Come on, guys. Don't fight over me." Frey said as he sat up, looking (thankfully) like me.

"Come, we've wasted enough time already." Lon'qu said.

I let out a sigh of relief and followed Lon'qu out of the room.

_Disaster averted._

* * *

**A/N: So, Somebody had asked if Frey looks like Hershel all the time and whether it tires him out or not; Frey only looks like Hershel when he's awake and even then only while there are other people around. And yes, it does take energy to transform his appearance, but it doesn't take a ton.**

**But anyway, let me know whether you liked this chapter through either a review or a PM, and also tell me what I can improve on.**

**Last thing before I sign off here; I would like to ask for some ideas on an appearance for Omofrisit when he gets his human form, you don't have to, but it would be nice if you did.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	12. Chapter Twelve: The Mission

Chapter Twelve: The Mission

**(Hershel's POV)**

On our way to the training room, I couldn't help but wonder how long we would have to train for before we would be allowed to go on missions.

_**Eh, probably a couple of years. It takes time and dedication to master a weapon of any kind.**_

_Omofrisit!? What are you doing in my head?!_

_**We made a deal, remember?**_

_Right…What am I getting out of it, again?_

_**Well, mostly wealth, but I'm sure we can find something else for you too.**_

_Oh, okay. I suppose that's fair enough._

_**Yes, well, you'd best get back to reality; it seems the others are trying to communicate with you.**_

_What do you mean?...You still there?_

Suddenly, I was snapped back into reality.

"Hershel! Hello? Are you there?"

"Huh? Wha?"

"You zoned out for a minute there, are you okay?" Frey asked.

"Um, yeah, I think so." I answered.

"Uh huh. Well, whatever. While you were zoned out, we made it to the training room, Lon'qu had to leave and prepare for some kind of tournament, and we were summoned to the throne room, so we're on our way there now." Frey explained.

"Ah, I see…"

We arrived at the throne room and were treated to Basilio's silent stare, once again. Frey and I waited for what seemed like ages before Basilio decided to speak.

"First, I would like you to acknowledge that I didn't crack a smile this time." Basilio said with pride obvious in his voice. "Second, I need you two to go to Ylisse. I've received word from an unreliable source that there will be an attempt on the Exalt's life in twelve days time. That being said, the source was unreliable, so I would prefer to not tell those at the Ylissean palace so as to avoid a panic. But, if the rumor is true, I wouldn't want it to be left unchecked. That's where you two come in; since you don't wear the crest of a particular kingdom, no one will pay you any mind, and with your skill set, you should be able to get into the palace and keep an eye on things. So what do you say?"

Frey looked like he was still trying to absorb all of what Basilio had just said. As for me, I was just trying to figure out what to do without completely panicking. My first option was to play along with Basilio's plan and then get murdered by my 'employers' later. The second option was to play along with Basilio's plan until we get to the night of the assassination and then side with my 'employers' and get murdered by Ylisse and Ferox. The third option was to run clear across the continent, change my name, dye my hair and never come back to this side of the continent.

To be honest, the first two options sounded better, because the third option sounded like too much work.

"We'll do it." Frey said.

_Wait…What?_

"Excellent, you'll be leaving tomorrow morning at first light, so use the rest of today preparing." Basilio said.

"Uh, Frey, maybe we should think about this a little more carefully, huh?" I said nervously.

"What's there to think about; we won't have to train, we get to go on a real mission, and it's not like we have a choice anyway, we're practically his servants anyway." Frey said matter-of-factly.

*Sigh* "Fine…" I said, defeated.

* * *

As I lay in bed that night, I tried to figure a way out of my predicament.

_Aahhhhh, I don't know what to do, I have three choices, none of which sound appealing._

_**If you don't mind my input, I say you should go with choice number two.**_

_Which one was that?_

_**You can't remember your own choices? If I could sigh, I would. Choice number two was the one where you side with your 'employers', because let's face it, you'll get some extra cash that way.**_

_Mmm, that's an extremely good point, but what about my morals?_

…_**What morals?**_

_Another excellent point! You know, Omofrisit? You're a genius._

_**I know, It's merely one of my many amazing talents.**_

_You can do more? What else can you do?_

_**I can see the future to some degree, I can possess dead bodies, I can possess living bodies and effectively eject the original owner, and I can perform dark magic.**_

…_That's quite a resume you've got there, who did you used to be?_

_**That's still irrelevant. But I will tell you eventually.**_

_Fine, whatever, keep being cryptic, see if I care._

…

…_._

…

_Now can I know?_

_**NO!**_

_Fine, geez, you didn't have to get all huffy._

_**Just go to sleep, you'll need your energy for tomorrow anyway.**_

_All right, good night._

_**Oh…good…night…**_

* * *

**(Omofrisit's inner thoughts)**

Huh, he wished me a good night, I do believe that's the first time anyone has shown me genuine kindness. It makes me feel…strange, but in a good way. I wonder if I would have received more kindness had I not been as harsh towards my subjects, perhaps I could have even been a king that was loved instead of feared and hated…NAH, that's stupid, the only good way to rule is with an iron fist…But it still makes me wonder…

* * *

**A/N: Well, this is rather awkward, I've had this chapter half written on my computer for over a month now, and only just got around to finishing, and for that, I would like to apologize.**

**If anybody is still reading this, please give me some feedback through either PM or review.**

**Thanks for reading! And please don't hate me for updating late.**


	13. Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen: Shenanigans

**(Hershel's POV)**

I was in the bland and white dreamscape once again, only this time; it wasn't very bland…or white. Now it had trippy, multi-colored walls and various bits of furniture scattered about the room.

I cast my gaze about the room and, just as I had before, found Omofrisit sitting at the usual table, which seemed to be the only thing in the room that was still white. Omofrisit was not paying any attention to me; instead, he was focused solely on the book he was reading. I took a seat at the table and cleared my throat, so as to make my presence known, he merely held up one finger, implying that I should wait.

I sat back in my chair and began studying Omofrisit himself. He was no longer a half-formed abomination; he now looked like a normal person. He had a soft, pale face, and a thin golden tiara running through his light purple hair and around his forehead. His clothes consisted of long purple Mage's robes and white pauldrons.

He slid a bookmark into his book and looked up at me with a smile. "So, what do you think?" He asked.

"What do I think of what?"

He gave me look that clearly said 'you're an idiot'. "What I meant was; what do you think of my new body?"

I stared at him for a second before answering. "Well, it's certainly…interesting." I said. "But what's up with the purple hair?"

"I'll have you know it was quite stylish back in the day." He snapped. "But interestingly enough, this is actually the body I had during my previous life."

"Really? Was your name Omofrisit back then too?" I asked.

"No, it was Lyon, and I was the prince of a large empire." He said, looking lost in his memories. "But enough about that, that's not why I called you here. I called you in here to let you know that by the time you wake up, I will have a physical form in the real world, specifically, this form. So while you're sleeping, you'd best come up with an excuse for Lon'qu as to why there's a third person in your room."

"Wait…what?...I don't understand…I thought it was going to take much longer for you to manifest yourself in the real world." I said with much confusion.

"I told you might be as short as a week or as long as a few years, and apparently, it only took a couple of weeks." He explained.

"A-buh, wha?"

"You're obviously too frazzled to understand it right now, I'll just send you back to sleep, I suppose." As soon as he finished talking, the all too familiar hole appeared beneath me and I was plunged into the depths.

* * *

I awoke to the familiar sight of my room and the sound of Frey snoring in the other bed. I sat up, rubbed my eyes and began to prepare for the day ahead of me until I noticed another person in the room.

After being startled and inspecting the person closer, I realized it was Omofrisit and remembered my conversation with him the night before.

"Hello." He said with a simple wave. "I assume you have your excuse ready?"

I sighed and tried to come up with something quickly…but there's no way Lon'qu would buy anything that I came up with, there's was just no good excuse for a strange man appearing in my room in the middle of the night.

"Omofrisit, I think you know very well that I can't come up with a good excuse, so…could I ask for your help in coming up with one?" I asked.

"Well, you could ask, but I don't think I would answer you." He said with a grin.

Great, now what? I had absolutely no way to explain this…unless…

"Omofrisit, Lon'qu hasn't come to get us yet, but he'll be here soon. I need you to follow me; I'm going to hide you in a different room until later, is that acceptable?"

"Aahh, now you're using the ol' noodle." He said. "So, where are we going?"

Without explaining my plan to him, I grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out of the room. We ran down hallway after hallway, avoiding people whenever we could and playing it cool when we couldn't. Eventually, we made it to the training room. We dashed inside and I went straight to the broom closet and opened it.

"Quick, get in." I said.

"Okay, but, a broom closet, really?" He said, looking not altogether pleased with the arrangements.

"Yes, no one will find you in here. Now hurry!" I said urgently.

He sighed in resignation and entered the broom closet. I shut the door and ran back to my room as fast as I could.

When I arrived back at the room, Frey was nowhere in sight. I could only assume that Lon'qu had already retrieved him and was now looking for me. I decided my best bet was to go to the throne room, on my way there, however, I was stopped a couple of guards who told me that Frey was waiting for me outside.

_What? Are we leaving already? But…that means I need to go get Omofrisit, and I just spent all that time hiding him too. Gah! It can't be helped._

I told the guards to let Frey know that I would be out in a few minutes. They nodded and left to deliver my message. After they were gone, I once again, ran as fast as I could back to the training room and opened the broom closet, Omofrisit was nowhere to be found, but there was a small note on the floor. I retrieved the note and read it.

'_I was found, I'm blaming it on you –Omofrisit'_

Great, now I had to go get him from the dungeon.

I made it to the dungeon and was now checking the cells. Some of them were empty and some of them had people who looked like they wanted to hurt me, but none of them contained Omofrisit. As I continued my search, I found one cell with the door wide open, I walked into it and found a dead prison guard and yet another note.

'_You're too late; I made a prison shank and got myself out. I'll be waiting outside. –Omofrisit'_

I sighed. Why couldn't he wait in one place?

I left the dungeon and headed outside. Per the usual, there was snow covering every surface, nothing escaped the cold embrace of the snow. I began to shiver as I looked for Omofrisit and Frey. I eventually found them waiting in the horse stable, having a friendly chat. As I drew near, they noticed me and greeted me.

"Hey, Hershel, where have you been?" Frey asked.

"Yeah, where have you been?" Omofrisit said with a sly grin.

"You know very well where I've been, Omofrisit." I said, visibly in a bad mood.

"Oh, you two know each other?" Frey asked.

"Yeah, we go way back, me and Hershel." Omofrisit said. "We've been friends since birth, practically."

I sent a glare in Omofrisit's direction and mounted a horse. "Whatever, let's go, we're burning daylight." I said, still a bit miffed.

"Someone's got an attitude today." Frey said with a smirk.

"Yeah, yeah. Come on let's go, the sooner we get there, the sooner we get paid." I said.

Without another word, the other two mounted their horses and we were off to Ylisse.

* * *

**A/N: Well, not sure how I did with this one. It seemed a bit rushed, but I couldn't write it any other way. So tell me what you think through either PM or Review, and as always:**

**Thanks for reading!**


	14. Chapter Fourteen: The Briefing

Chapter Fourteen: The Briefing

**(Hershel's POV)**

The ride to Ylisse wasn't very eventful, unless you include the part where Omofrisit and Frey decided it would be a good idea to coax a bear into our campsite, but that's a story for a different day.

When we finally did make it to Ylisse, we ended up arriving at the same time as Chrom and friends. I tried to avoid them and hope they didn't recognize me, but of course, Robin noticed us and walked over to us.

"Hello, Hershel. Interesting that you should be here at the same time we are, huh?" He gave me a look that clearly said he thought I was a spy.

"Robin, I thought we had gone over this, I'm not a spy, and Chrom said he trusts me."

"I know that, I can't help but wonder though."

"Whoa whoa whoa. Buddy, this guy is as trustworthy as they come." Omofrisit said. "In fact, I can't think of a single person that I would trust more." Despite his words, I could see his fingers crossed behind his back.

"And who, exactly, are you?" Robin asked.

"My name is Omofrisit. I am a powerful sorcerer from a time long past, seeking something that is very important to me." Seemingly from out of nowhere, a strong gust of wind came, making Omofrisit's cloak flutter in the wind.

Frey and I rolled our eyes and Robin looked skeptical.

"Ooookay. Well, it was nice seeing you again, Hershel." The tone in Robin's voice said otherwise.

When Robin got back over to his group, he whispered something to Chrom. As soon as he was finished with his whispering, Chrom looked over at us and gave a smile and a wave. I waved back out of courtesy and our groups went their separate ways into the city.

"Hershel, where are we going?" Frey asked.

"I already told you, I have to meet up with some people tonight. You and Omofrisit can do whatever you want." I answered.

"Gah! Fine, c'mon Omofrisit, let's go find somewhere to eat."

"Ah, um, okay. I'll catch you later, Hershel!" Omofrisit said as he walked away with Frey.

_Finally, I can get back to the task at hand. If I remember right, the assassin said I was to meet him in the same tree we met in the first time. The only question is how to get in to the palace gardens. I suppose I could try scaling the wall._

Just by looking at the wall, I could tell it would be quite a chore to climb over it, but I could probably do it if I tried really hard. But is there an easier way in?

Just as I was trying to figure out a different way into the palace gardens, I noticed Chrom and friends coming up to the castle gates. Looks like it's time to mooch.

"Hey, Chrom! How are you doing?" I said as I walked over to him.

"Oh, hi Hershel." He said, a little surprised. "Um, I'm doing fine, I suppose. How are you?"

"Oh, I'm doing well. I was just thinking to myself how cool it would be to see the inside of the palace." I said with a (fake) thoughtful face.

"Oh, um, if you'd like, you can come inside with us." He said a little awkwardly.

"Really!?" I said enthusiastically. "Thank you very much!"

As I blended with the rest of the group, I could tell that both Frederick and Robin were glaring daggers at me.

_They're just jealous of my acting skills._

* * *

**(Omofrisit's POV)**

_Maybe I should have stayed with Hershel. As much as I like hanging out with Frey, I feel like Hershel is going to get himself in trouble._

_Bah! I'm just getting paranoid, he's a big boy, he can take care of himself….probably._

I took another swig of my drink. Frey and I were currently sitting at an otherwise empty booth in a low class bar, drinking cheap beverages. The bar was rather run down, the floorboards were cracked and split in various places, the paint on the walls was peeling and there wasn't much in the way of light. In addition, each and every glass had at least one chip in it. But, the drinks and food were cheap, thus the reason we were even there.

"Omofrisit, I'm bored. Find me something to do." Frey said, putting his head back against the chair.

"Well, we could always rob the nearest bank." I said with a sly grin.

"Okay, but how are we gonna do it?" He asked.

"I'll grab the moneychanger and hide him in a supply closet, and you can use your power to make yourself look like the moneychanger. That way, you can just leisurely walk into the back room and grab the money." I explained.

"Ok- Wait, how do you know about my power?" Frey asked with a hint of panic and suspicion.

_Shoot! Okay, calm down, just come up with an excuse._

"Um, well, you see…It's because Hershel and I go way back, and he never had a twin of any kind, and I've seen other people who can change to look like other people so, I just assumed that's what you did." I said with a nervous laugh.

"O-kay." Frey said, still looking suspicious.

I suppose Frey decided to change back to his regular appearance, now that I had 'found out' about his ability.

"Eh, I don't really feel like robbing the bank anymore." He said. "Bartender! Two glasses of your finest whiskey!...You're paying, right?" Frey asked.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, I'm paying."

* * *

**(Hershel's POV)**

Finally, after almost a full hour of acting like I was excited to be seeing the inside of the palace, I was able to get the gardens without being followed.

I found the place where I was supposed to meet the rest of the thieves; apparently, I was the last to arrive. Among the group, there was an orange haired man with a strip of cloth tied around his head and few pieces of candy sticking out of his pocket.

The second man seemed to be a boy in his late teen years with blue hair and a matching cape that was ripped at the bottom.

The third was a man whose age I couldn't gauge due to the mask covering the lower part of his face. His outfit was similar to mine but with lighter colors in certain places. He seemed to have to long, red strips of cloth attached to the neck area of his outfit, which could have been a cape at some point. And lastly, his hair was a lightish-black color, not quite gray, but fairly close to it.

Just as I had finished sizing up my colleagues, our employer arrived. I had expected it to be the same man I had met in the tree, but I suppose not everything goes as expected.

The man had appeared in a puff of black smoke, and judging from that and the man's clothes, I could guess that he was probably a sorcerer or a dark mage.

"Good evening, I am Validar. You are all here tonight because I needed your expertise and you needed money. As you may already kn-" He was cut off by voice off to our right.

"Hershel! There you are, we've been looking all over for you, and then Omofrisit suggested we try here." Frey explained as he ran over to me with Omofrisit in tow. They both seemed to be out of breath.

"Who are these people?" Omofrisit asked, finally noticing the others.

"I could ask the same question." Validar said, obviously annoyed.

"Well, I'm Frey, and this is Omofrisit." Frey explained. "Now who are you?"

"I am Validar, and these four men are my employees."

Suddenly, Omofrisit got the most evil and angry expression I had ever seen on a person.

"Validar, was it? I must ask, have you been in contact with dragons lately?" Omofrisit asked.

Validar got the same evil and angry expression. "Perhaps, have you been around any demons lately?"

The two stared at each other for what seemed like forever before I couldn't handle not knowing what this was all about.

"Um, if it's not too much trouble, could you two tell me what's going on?" I asked.

"Dragons and Demons have a grudge that dates back to the time of the Demon King himself." Omofrisit explained.

"There is indeed a grudge, but come on, do you really believe in the legends of the Demon King?" Validar asked with a skeptical look on his face.

"I do." Answered Omofrisit.

The two glared for a bit longer before someone else tried to break the tension.

"Right, well, why don't we introduce ourselves? My name is Colm." It was the boy with blue hair that had spoken.

Next, the man with orange hair. "The name's Gaius, and I'll do anything for candy."

"Volke." The tall man said simply.

"Um, I'm Hershel." I said.

"My name is Frey." Frey added. "…Psst, Omofrisit, you're next."

"Tch, fine. I'm know as Omofrisit."

"Yes yes, that's all well and good, but let's gets back to the task at hand, shall we?" Validar said with on last glare at Omofrisit.

We all nodded our consent.

"Great. Now, as I was saying before, you may have already been told, but you're job is to unlock any and all doors inside the palace, and in return, you may keep any treasures that you find. Upon completion of the assassination, you will also receive a small sum. Any questions?"

"What if someone sees us?" I asked.

"Kill them." Validar said.

* * *

**A/N: Well guys, I'm very proud of this chapter, and this isn't even its original length, I had to cut part of the chapter out to be used in the next chapter.**

**But anyway, PLEASE give me feedback, I have only gotten consistent feedback from a couple of people, so I'm not sure if I'm doing well or not. So please leave a review or send me a PM telling me what you thought of the chapter.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	15. Chapter Fifteen: The Job

Chapter Fifteen: The Job

* * *

**(Hershel's POV)**

With the unsettling note Validar had left things on, he disappeared to somewhere to prepare for the mission. He told us to take five minutes to make sure we were fully prepared for this job; we had all made sure of that before we came here, so we took the five minutes to sit and talk.

From what I could gather, Gaius had just been a simple thief when he was offered this job. Colm claimed to have lost his memory, but he kept glancing at Omofrisit as if he recognized him. And as far as any of us could tell, Volke wasn't going to tell us anything about himself unless we paid him.

Colm and Gaius didn't want to kill anyone, so their plan was to lay low and gather treasure without catching the attention of the guards.

I planned to lay low as well, but for a different reason, I simply didn't want to be killed, but I didn't have a problem with killing someone.

Volke still wouldn't say anything, so I couldn't be sure what his intentions were.

I was snapped out of my thoughts by someone talking to me.

"So, Hershel, why exactly are you here with these people?" Frey asked.

"He's doing the job Basilio sent you two to do, obviously." Omofrisit said before I could answer.

"But that still doesn't tell me why the rest of these people are here." Frey said.

"We're here to assassinate the Exalt." Volke said.

_Wow, blunt and straight to the point._

"WHAT!?" Frey yelled. "Then we have to let someone know. C'mon, Hershel, we should tell Chrom."

He began walking in the direction of the front gates before I grabbed his arm to stop him.

"No, you can't let him know. If he finds out, and stops the attempt on the Exalt's life, then Validar will probably seek me out and murder me in my sleep." I told him.

"That's the most selfish thing I've heard you say. You would value your own life above the life of someone who has kept the peace across this continent for years?"

"You make a good point, but, I value my life very much."

"I don't care what you do, Hershel, but I'm going to tell Chrom." And with that, he ran off to the palace.

"Eh, don't worry about it. The Exalt doesn't have a ghost of a chance." Omofrisit said, putting a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

Was what I was doing right? I mean, Frey had a point. The Exalt has kept the peace for a long time, is killing her to save my own life the right thing to do? I don't know anymore.

"C'mon, kid. It's time to move."

I whipped around to find Volke standing right behind me. Man, he was quiet.

We all picked up our equipment and made our way to a servant's exit. Colm picked the lock and just like that, we were inside.

* * *

**(Frey's POV)**

I couldn't believe Hershel, how could he be so selfish? To be honest, it didn't even seem like it was him. Come to think of it, he hadn't been acting like himself for quite a while now. I wonder what's wrong.

But there's no time to think about that right now. I need to let Chrom know what's about to happen. But where would he be? Ah, there's someone I can ask.

"Excuse me; do you know where I might find Chrom?"

The person turned around to face me and I could now see that it was a woman with long red hair and white armor.

"Before I answer your question, could you please tell me who you are?" She asked.

"Oh, of course. My name is Frey Ferris; I'm an…acquaintance of Chrom's. Now could you please tell me where he is, I have something very important to tell him."

She stared at me for a bit, probably trying to decide whether I was trustworthy or not, before answering me.

"Last I saw, he was headed that way." She said, pointing in the direction she had just come from.

"Thank you very much." I said before sprinting off to find Chrom.

I ran for what seemed like a long time but in reality, it was probably only a few minutes. Eventually, I saw Chrom and Robin standing just outside the castle. Feeling relieved, I started to call out to them when I noticed a masked man walk up to Chrom and begin talking to him.

I slowed my run to a walk, and then halted all together. I watched as Chrom became increasingly more serious and confused. Suddenly, a man jumped from a tree and attempted to attack Chrom. Chrom fumbled for his sword, still trying to recover from the surprise, when all of a sudden, the masked man calmly and swiftly disposed of the assailant.

All seemed to be calm for a moment, when another assailant jumped out from the bushes. He attacked the man with the mask before he had a chance to do anything but fall backwards.

The sword only managed to slice the mask and Chrom quickly slashed the assassin before he could get another attack off.

Chrom turned to face the once-masked man and got a confused and surprised look on his face. I tried to look closer to see why he wore such an expression, and then I saw it too. The masked man was not, in fact, a man at all. He was actually a she.

Before I could think about what had just happened too much, I decided to deliver my message to Chrom, now that the fighting was over, not that it was relevant at this point. Surely he knew that something was going on, but I was going to tell him anyway.

As I drew closer, I saw Chrom, Robin and the woman draw their swords.

"It's okay Chrom, it's me, Frey. I need to tell you something."

"Frey?" Chrom said before sheathing his sword. "What are you doing here?"

I walked into a lighted area and was about to explain myself when Chrom asked another question.

"And why do you not look like the Frey we've seen before?"

I was confused by his question for a moment before realizing that I was in my regular form, I didn't look like Hershel right now.

"No time to explain, there's an assassination attempt happening right now-" I said.

"We already know that." Robin said.

"-And Hershel is helping them." I finished.

Chrom looked surprised, the woman looked confused and Robin wore a smug 'I knew it' face.

"No more time for talking, we need to go." The woman said.

"You're right, Marth. There's no time to lose." Chrom said. "Frey, would you help us?"

"Of course. Someone needs to knock Hershel back to his senses."

* * *

**(Hershel's POV)**

I crept through the palace as quietly as I could, unlocking doors and looting the rooms behind them.

I'd like to say I was brave enough to go by myself, but I was following Volke, purely due to the fact that he seemed to be the most adept at the things we were doing.

From what I had seen of Colm and Gaius, it seems that they had paired up as well.

As time went on, I began seeing more and more skirmishes in the halls of the palace before it became a full blown battle.

Chandeliers were on the floor, carpets were torn, and there seemed to be scorch marks on the walls. I tried to stay out of the fighting as much as I could, but there were too many soldiers.

Several feet away, I could see a pair of large double doors directly ahead of me. I would have to go through a few skirmishes, but I needed to get to that door. It practically screamed 'Hey! Look at me, there's tons of treasure in this room.'

_Sword coming my way. Duck, stab knees, finish off with a blow to the head. Roll to the side, crawl between someone's legs. Decapitate soldier. Elbow mage's face._

I was almost to the doors, but there was one last obstacle. A giant of a man wearing heavy armor and wielding a battle axe was guarding the doors. There was definitely something important in that room.

I charged the man and attempted a simple jab, my sword merely bounced off his armor. I recovered from the recoil just in time to dodge a swing of his axe.

He seemed to be extremely slow, but I couldn't see a single weak point on him. Maybe there would be one on his back.

He swung again, and I rolled around to his back, to my disappointment, I couldn't see any weak points there either. I had no chance against this guy, but I reeeaaaally wanted to get into that room.

I dodged a few more swings from his axe and began praying to any deity I could think of, when all of a sudden, a dark purple orb encircled the large man and began shrinking. I could see he was starting to panic, and I merely watched as the orb kept shrinking smaller and smaller, resulting in the man being squeezed into painful positions, but the orb kept shrinking until it was no more.

I stared for a bit, still trying to comprehend the grizzly sight I had just witnessed, when a hand came down on my shoulder

"You're welcome." Omofrisit said with a smile. "What are you waiting for? Open up that door."

He was right. I picked the lock on the door and entered the room with Omofrisit close behind me. The doors slammed shut and the lights went out before we could survey the room. Then there was a glow in the corner of the room and a thunderbolt was sent our way. I was hit straight on and promptly fell to the ground; Omofrisit merely blocked it with some kind of magic shield.

"I'll distract him; you go around and flank him." Omofrisit whispered to me. He began casting spell after spell into the dark.

I weakly got up; still trying to recover from the electric shock I had received. I walked along the walls, leaning upon them for support, and tiptoed as quietly as I could around the room until I could see the faint outline of a person. I readied my sword and prepared myself to lunge.

Omofrisit cast one last spell, the person blocked it and I lunged. My sword went clean through their body and we tumbled to the ground.

The doors of the room were forced open and I could see Chrom, Robin, the woman they had called Marth, Lissa, Frey, and last of all was Frederick. They all wore expressions of horror as they looked at me.

I looked down to see that the person I had just murdered was none other than the Exalt herself.

Chrom looked at me with sadness and anger in his eyes.

"Hershel, why?"

* * *

**A/N: PLOT TWIST! I'm sure some of you saw this coming, but I hope you didn't, because what's a story without plot twists that the reader doesn't expect?**

**Anyway, I really enjoyed writing this chapter, and I hope you enjoyed reading it. If you liked this chapter, please leave a review or send me a PM.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	16. Chapter Sixteen: History Lesson

Chapter Sixteen: History Lesson

* * *

**(Hershel's POV)**

"Hershel…why?" Chrom asked.

"I didn't mean to, I didn't even know that that was her. I just…she attacked me…and I retaliated…I didn't mean to kill her…" I said.

At this point, I was extremely shaken up, and I could feel myself going into shock.

"Lies!" Frederick exclaimed. "Sire, I have been saying that he was a Plegian spy since day one. And now we know that not only is he a spy, he is also an assassin! I say we execute him right here and now!"

"But….but I…." I trailed off, I couldn't move my body anymore and I could hardly think straight. One last thought came into my mind before I went into shock.

_What have I done?_

* * *

**(Omofrisit's POV)**

_HAHAHA! I can't believe he actually killed her! When I told him to circle around and flank her, I had expected a mild injury at best, but he just straight up killed her!_

_Hmm, this poses two problems; First problem, Hershel is going to have to leave Ylisse, but where are we going to go?...I guess Plegia is our best bet, seeing as this is exactly what they've wanted for several years. The only question now is: how am I going to get Hershel out of this situation? There's no way he can beat all of them by himself….looks like I'll have to intervene._

_Second problem, I'm going to have to kidnap Frey as well, I don't really fancy the thought of him telling Chrom what little he knows about me. I'd rather keep my identity a secret for the time being._

As I finished my thoughts, I could see Frederick and Chrom advancing towards Hershel with murder written on their faces.

"Hey, Chrom!" I called with an evil grin on my face. "I do believe there are some friends waiting in the hallway for you."

Chrom, being the poor gullible sap he is, turned to look into the hallway. But fortunately for him, there really was something in the hallway. A couple of Revenants had 'somehow' gotten into the palace.

As soon as Chrom saw the Revenants, he deemed them the more immediate threat; unfortunately, he had Frederick keep an eye on us while he and the others fought the monsters.

Frederick stared us down with his coldest glare. It didn't bother me much, since I felt no remorse for what just happened, but it was affecting Hershel quite a bit. In fact, it seemed that Hershel still hadn't recovered from killing the Exalt. What a sissy, I mean, come on! It was just cold blooded murder, what's the big deal?

Well, whatever, it was time to take a bow and leave the stage.

"Well, Frederick. It's been great, but I'm afraid we have places to be." I said as I shot two orbs of dark energy over Frederick's shoulder.

"Hah, you missed, craven." He responded.

"Those were not meant for you." I told him.

He glanced over his shoulder to find that the Revenants had been dealt with, but now, both Chrom and Lissa were trapped inside the orbs I had shot, and they were slowly becoming smaller.

"At the rate the orbs are shrinking, you'll only be able to save one of them, you'd better choose which one is more valuable, and quickly." I told my audience.

They immediately began hacking and slashing at the orbs in an attempt to break them.

Seeing as they were preoccupied, I took my sweet time getting our escape ready. My powers had not yet fully returned, making it take a lot longer than it should have to open a portal, but I managed to do it before too much time was wasted.

Since Hershel was still in shock, and likely couldn't move by himself. I took the liberty of shoving him into the portal.

"Frey! Get over here quick!" I called to him. "Hershel's waiting, and in the state he's in, he can't take care of himself!"

"Well, excuse me. I need to help save Chrom and Lissa from the trap that _you_ put them in." He said with a glare.

"Don't worry, they'll be fine." I told him.

"They're about to be crushed, and you say that they'll be fine?!" He said. "I don't think that's the case!"

"Gah! Why are you so difficult?" I said, frustrated. "Fine, I'll make sure they get out of there. Now get in the portal!"

Frey looked between me and the two orbs. He ran over to the portal and jumped in with only a hint of hesitation. As soon as he was in, I dispelled the orbs, letting Chrom and Lissa drop to the floor.

Well, no reason to stick around any longer. I jumped into the portal and saw them come to the realization that we were gone before the portal closed and I was left with my thoughts while I traveled to the destination.

* * *

**(Hershel's POV)**

_What have I done? I killed the Exalt. What's going to happen now? I can't just apologize, I murdered her. They're probably going to hang me, or torture me until I die, I suppose that's only fair. She was a symbol of peace, and I just killed her._

_I can't even comprehend what's happening around me, I don't want to see them looking at me with those faces filled with hatred and anger._

_Wait, I can feel myself being pushed, and now I'm falling, or maybe I'm floating. It doesn't matter; I'll probably end up dying anyway,_

"Well, if you think like that, you're sure to die. You need to be optimistic!"

_Who was that? And how are they reading my thoughts?_

"As for who I am, you should recognize my voice. And I can read you're thoughts because you don't guard them well enough."

_Omofrisit?_

"There you go, you got it. Now could you please start moving by yourself?'Cause, I'm not going to carry you all the way to the palace."

_I thought we were already in the palace._

"Well, we were in the Ylissean palace, but now we're headed to the Plegian palace."

…_.Omofrisit, who are you really?_

"What? That was a little off topic."

_I know, but I'd like to know who you really are. I saw you take out that big guy guarding the door to the room the Exalt was in, and that was no ordinary magic._

*sigh* "I'll tell you a story. Once upon a time, there was a man, but he wasn't just any man, he was the prince of a large empire. But he was weak, so when his father passed on, he didn't think he was strong enough to rule the empire, he vowed to bring his father back to life, through any means necessary. He studied many tomes that detailed the use of dark magic and necromancy, but he was still weak and so, he turned to an artifact that had been safeguarded by his empire for all of recorded history. But this artifact held something evil inside, it held the soul of the Demon King, and when he tried to use the artifact, he succeeded in bringing his father back to life, but with a terrible price. The prince was possessed by the Demon King, who consumed his soul ever so slowly, and it was only too late that the prince realized his father's body had been reanimated, but his father's mind was not there. The body was nothing more than a puppet.

"The prince could do nothing but watch as the Demon King ravaged the entire continent and killed many people. But two heroes rose to combat the Demon King, they were the twin prince and princess of a neighboring kingdom and the unfortunate prince's only friends. His friends gathered together a ragtag band of mercenaries and knights and at the end of it all, they fought the Demon King, destroyed his body, and trapped his soul inside an artifact once again. But the prince could not be saved, his soul had been devoured by the Demon King and nothing his friends did could keep death at bay.

"Time passed, his friends grew old and died, new rulers came and went. But after so long, the prince realized that his soul was gone. His consciousness was still intact, but without a soul, he had no moral compass. He rejoiced at the realization that he was still relatively alive, but quickly became saddened when he noticed that he had no body. He was doomed to sit and watch the world grow old for all eternity. Since that time, he has watched many deities rise and fall by the hands of mortals, and each time, he envied them, knowing that none of the opponents they faced compared to the Demon King, in power or in cunning.

"Those who still know of the Demon King either deny that he ever existed or that he just doesn't exist anymore, but the truth is, he still watches every move humans make, just waiting for one who will release him from his prison so that he may rule over this world with an iron fist and take revenge upon the descendants of the twins who brought about the end of his reign."

_So you were the unfortunate prince?_

"…."

…_..What happened to the kingdoms, and the continent for that matter?_

"They were abandoned; a new continent was discovered that was rich in valuable materials, so everyone sailed over to that continent. But eventually, that one was mostly abandoned too, in favor of the one we now stand upon."

_Where is the Demon King now?_

"There are a few legends alluding to the location of the artifact he was sealed within, but they're all wrong. The artifact still resides upon the old continent, sealed away by those who slew the Demon King. But that's enough history lessons for today. After all, you still need to get back to reality and start walking by yourself. I think Frey is getting tired of carrying you."

_What? Oh, right._

I rushed back to reality to find myself being carried by Frey.

"I can walk by myself now, Frey." I told him.

Frey looked relieved as he set me down. I inspected my surroundings a little more closely and saw that we seemed to be in a desert, I panicked at first, but then I noticed a castle surrounded by the bones of some extremely large beast. I suppose that should have panicked me, but for some reason, it didn't.

"Well, I suppose we should be on our way then." I began running towards the castle as fast as I could.

* * *

**A/N: Well, I am pretty satisfied with how this chapter turned out. I'm not sure what you guys think of it, but let me know through either PM or review.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	17. Chapter Seventeen: A New Friend

Chapter Seventeen: A New Friend

* * *

**(Hershel's POV)**

Man, I thought we were close to the castle before, but we've been walking for three hours since then, and it seems like it hasn't even gotten any closer. I'm not even sure how we got to Plegia, or why Omofrisit thinks we can just waltz in and talk to the king, but if things go wrong, I'm blaming him.

…I wonder how Chrom and Lissa are doing right now. With the Exalt dead, their world has probably been turned upside down. I can't even imagine the pain they must be going through, or that the whole kingdom is going through for that matter, and it's all my fault…but should I really be feeling guilty? I mean, Ylisse isn't my home, and I hardly even knew Chrom anyway, we were more like acquaintances. But I did just murder his sister, and I don't think that's okay any way you look at it.

"Hey, Hershel. Are you ready to take a lunch break yet?" Frey asked, bringing me out of my thoughts.

"Oh, uh, yeah…Do we have any lunch?" I asked.

"Well, Omofrisit and I saw some wyverns over that way." He said, pointing off to the side.

"Wha? Wyverns?! Okay, first, how would we kill it? Second, how are we gonna cook it?"

"Don't worry, I have a plan." Omofrisit said.

* * *

**(Omofrisit's POV)**

Well, looks like Hershel is just as dim-witted as ever. All I had to do was tell him we were going to hunt a wyvern, and that I had a plan, and I was able to get him to stand out in the open as bait…not that there's anything but open space in the desert. But that's beside the point.

Fortunately for Hershel, I do actually have a plan and a way to cook the wyvern. As soon as the wyvern came down to attack Hershel, I would leap out from behind the cactus I was hiding behind, and shoot a fireball at it. My plan is foolproof. Although with Hershel's level of not-skill, he can probably manage to mess it up.

* * *

Two hours of waiting later, we finally spotted a wyvern, and as I had hoped, it saw Hershel. The wyvern dove down in an attempt to snatch Hershel, but before I could cast a spell, an arrow struck the wyvern in its side and it tumbled to the ground. The wyvern got to its feet and looked around for the source of the arrow, but as far as the wyvern could see, there was no one around who could have shot the arrow. In fact, I couldn't see anyone either, all that I could see was a few cacti and a ton of sand. But then where did the arrow come from?

Whatever, I could solve that mystery later. Right now, I needed to finish off this wyvern. I turned my attention to the wyvern once again, only to find that Hershel was taking care of it.

Hershel would swing his sword; the wyvern would block with its claws, and they would repeat the pattern.

I decided to let Hershel handle the wyvern while I searched for the source of the arrow. But just as I turned away to do so, I noticed Frey fighting a couple of bandits near a hollow and overturned cactus. Coincidently, one of the bandits had a crossbow.

All of the sudden, I didn't feel quite as useful as I used to. Well, whatever, I don't shouldn't have to be useful to them, they should have to be useful to me. After all, I have a much more important goal than either of those two.

The only question is: How can I get these two to go to the Black Temple? I mean, it's not exactly a pleasant place to be in. And now that I think about it, I don't even know if the Black Temple is still around. I know the location where it should be, but for all I know, the piece of land it was on has sunk into the sea. What would I do if that happened? How would I accomplish my goal?

Okay, just calm down. You're over thinking it, the Temple is probably fine.

Come to think of it, I should probably take a look at a map, just so I know where the black Temple is nowadays, after all, it's been a very long time since I was last on this continent.

"Hey, Omofrisit!" That was Hershel's voice.

"What?"

"Can I ask you for a favor?"

"Sure, just make it quick. I'm trying to think about our next move."

"Oh, okay. Well, um…can we find something else for dinner?"

"What? Why?" I looked over at Hershel to find that the wyvern seemed to have calmed down, and was now doing something akin to cuddling with Hershel while Frey petted its snout.

"Hershel. Don't you dare ask me if we can keep it." I said, frustration evident in my voice.

Hershel seemed to be thinking something over before finally speaking.

"Can we let the wyvern travel with us indefinitely?" Hershel asked.

I could feel the annoyance rising up inside me, threatening to break free. But I couldn't let that happen, I'm better than that, I can control my emotions. Just turn around and walk away.

"Uh…Omofrisit?" Hershel said hesitantly.

I turned my back to Hershel and Frey.

"Do whatever you want, I don't care. I guess we'll just starve, especially considering the fact that we now have a wyvern to feed." I said, agitatedly.

"Well-"

Hershel was cut off by Frey.

"Well, it might sound a bit gruesome, but I did just kill a few bandits over yonder. We can feed them to the wyvern." Frey said.

"I suppose, but that still doesn't change the fact that we have nothing to eat." I complained.

"Now that we have a wyvern, we could have it fly us to the palace. And we could get food there." Hershel suggested.

As much as I didn't want to admit it, that was a sound plan. But that wasn't the reason I was upset, the reason I was upset was that I couldn't think of a better plan.

"Fine, whatever. Let's just go."

* * *

**A/N: I feel like an explanation is in order as to why I didn't update sooner. First off, I was at a week-long campout. Second, I was lazy, and I have no other excuse for my absence.**

**I hope you can all forgive me for this most grievous sin. *cries in a corner***

**But anyway, tell me what you thought of this chapter through either review or PM. And as always; Thanks for Reading!**


	18. Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen: An Audience With The King

* * *

**(Hershel's POV)**

Flying on a wyvern was so much different from walking. The rushing wind kept us cool, we didn't have to do hardly anything, and I could actually see the palace getting closer.

So overall, riding the wyvern was much better than having to walk through the desert. But for whatever reason, Omofrisit seemed to be less than pleased. Eh, he's probably just a little crabby because he hasn't eaten today.

"Hey, Omofrisit. How long do you think it'll be before we get there?" I asked.

"I don't know, why don't you ask your new wyvern buddy." Omofrisit said with a sneer.

Yeah, he definitely needs something to eat.

I decided it would be best not to bother Omofrisit for the rest of the ride, and apparently Frey had the same idea, because he didn't say anything the rest of the time either.

We landed outside the palace and were immediately surrounded by a group of Dark Mages led by none other than Validar.

"Greetings, Hershel. I'm surprised to see you alive after what happened at the palace of the Exalt." Validar said. "And it's always a…pleasure…to see you, Omofrisit." Disdain clear in his voice.

"Of course, Validar." Omofrisit said with an evil grin.

The tension between the two of them was so thick, you could practically see it. The two of them continued their stare down for a while longer before Validar brought his attention back to me as if nothing had ever happened.

"So, I assume you're here to request an audience with the king, correct?" Validar asked me.

"Oh, uh, yeah, if it's alright, I would love to speak with the king." I said as we dismounted the wyvern.

"Good, I was hoping you would say that. I already made an appointment for you, anticipating your arrival. Come this way please."

Validar turned away and walked through the main gate of the palace. I gave a fleeting thought for the wyvern before I followed behind him. I quickly noticed that the Dark Mages were a little too close behind us and in addition to the Dark Mages, I could see some archers atop the ramparts surrounding the palace. Needless to say, I didn't get the most welcoming feeling from this place.

Validar guided us through the halls of the palace, which were much more luxurious than those of the Feroxi palace, until at last, we reached the throne room.

The first thing I noticed was the man sitting upon the throne. I had barely even seen the man and I could already tell that he wasn't quite right in the head. At the moment, he seemed to be lounging on his throne with an extremely bored expression on his face. But who knew how he would act as soon as he spotted us.

"Your majesty, the guests of honor have arrived." Validar said with a bow.

The king stood up from his throne, an excited expression now on his face

"Really? You three are really the ones who killed the Exalt? BWAH HA HA HA! I would slay you where you stand for taking that opportunity from me, but I'm just so happy! BWAH HA HA!" He said, a look of mad glee on his face.

The man is as mad as a hatter, why did we ever think it was a good idea to come here?!

"Hah…ahah ha…hoo. Oh, that was the best laugh I've had in ages. I don't care who you are or where you're from, but I do believe a reward of some kind is on order. For killing the Exalt and for making me laugh." The king said.

A reward? I can see we're going to get along just fine.

"Milord." Omofrisit began. "For our reward, might we make a few requests?"

"Go ahead, I'm in a good mood today." Gangrel said.

"First: we need somewhere to stay, long term."

"You're always welcome here, just as long as you can give me excruciating detail as to how the Exalt met her end." Gangrel said, nearly losing his composure once again.

"Thank you. Second: I would ask that our wyvern be taken care of for as long as we're staying here.

"Sure thing. We'll feed the useless soldiers and servants to him."

"And my third and final request: I would like to have an area set aside for my personal research and I would like a large amount of resources to work with."

"Well, I'm not sure what exactly all of that entails, but if you'd like, I can give you Validar's job."

Validar looked at Gangrel with complete shock on his face.

"B-but sire! I've served you for many, many years. And I am undoubtedly the most accomplished sorcerer in the land!" Validar said.

"I would beg to differ." Omofrisit said, shooting a glare at Validar.

"Oooh! This is getting exciting!" Gangrel said. "And I know just the way to resolve this: A FIGHT TO THE DEATH! GYA HAHAHA!

"You both have fifteen minutes- No, scratch that, TEN minutes to prepare. And the battlefield will be right here in the throne room, where I can watch the whole thing comfortably! The ten minutes start…NOW!"

Omofrisit immediately rushed over to me and Frey.

"Omofrisit, are you sure you can beat him?" I asked, shooting a quick glance over at Validar who seemed to be meditating.

"I'm positive. But I need you two to do some things for me. Okay?"

"Absolutely. What do you need from us?" Frey said.

"Hershel, I need you to entertain the king if he starts to get bored during the battle."

"Wha? Why me? Why can't Frey do it?" I asked.

"Because I can rely on Frey more than I can rely on you. Which brings me to what I need from you, Frey. I'm certain I can beat this guy, but I've thought the same about others and still lost. So I need you to keep yourself hidden, but always stay within striking distance of Validar, and if things start to go bad, I want you to kill him." Omofrisit said.

"No problem, you just give me a signal, and put a sword clean through him." Frey said with absolute confidence.

"Oh…you can't trust me?...okay then….if anybody needs me…which they won't…..I'll be over here…" I could feel some major depression coming on as I walked over to the king's throne.

* * *

**A/N: Here's the next chapter, and out pretty soon after the last one. Um, I don't really have anything else to say about this chapter. But please remember to read and review. And as always: Thanks for Reading!**


	19. Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen: Indefinite Imprisonment

* * *

**(Hershel's POV)**

As per Omofrisit's instruction, I was stationed next to King Gangrel's throne, just in case he got bored during the battle. In short, I was now a jester.

Omofrisit and Validar stood across from each other a few feet from the king's throne. They probably should have been farther away, but hey, this was Plegia, no one cared.

The two combatants gave each other withering glares before facing the king and giving a bow. Gangrel acknowledged their bows with a nod and waved to the referee.

"Let the battle….BEGIN!" The referee yelled.

At once, Validar sent a bolt of dark energy at Omofrisit. Being unprepared, he was sent flying across the room, through a beautiful tapestry, and into the wall.

Validar wore a smug grin on his face as he watched Omofrisit stumble out of the wall. Omofrisit did not look happy. His whole expression practically screamed malice and murder. Whatever Omofrisit was about to do, I don't think Validar was going to appreciate it.

Omofrisit slowly put his hand into the pocket of his robes and pulled out a single piece of chalk. Validar looked confused for a moment, before a look of understanding made its way to his face and he immediately began setting up some magical shields and other wards.

Omofrisit began drawing a circle and some symbols on the ground while Validar continued his spells.

Before long, Omofrisit stood back up and returned the chalk to his pocket. I studied the symbol, trying to figure out what it meant. It seemed to be the sun starting to be eclipsed by the moon, and inside the moon was a pentagram.

I suddenly felt like this battle was not going to end well for anyone.

Validar had finished with his wards and now began casting spell after spell at Omofrisit, who merely took the punishment being sent his way and began to chant in a language that sounded far different from the language typically used for spells and summoning. It sounded…old, and slightly malicious. Validar seemed to not recognize the language either, as he stopped casting spells to listen to the incantation.

Validar was so mesmerized by the incantation that he didn't even notice that Omofrisit had finished. The chalk drawing began to glow and….things…started to rise from the ground. Some were skeletons, some were rotting corpses, but the third variety was far stranger than either of those, they were human sized eyes with tentacles protruding from their backs. It was by far the most horrifying thing I had seen in my entire life.

"Ooohh. Things are getting good now. Ahahaha!" Gangrel exclaimed with glee.

Validar looked on with shock and horror, not believing his eyes.

"H-how..? Where? I-I don't understand. Those are the demons of old…the ones that roamed this continent even before the first Exalt slayed the fell dragon Grima." Validar said, panic rising in his voice.

"Indeed they are. They've been confined to the Lagdou ruins for far too long. It's about time they got some fresh air." Omofrisit said.

At this point, I could tell that Omofrisit was no longer himself. Something had snapped. He didn't have his usual calm and collected attitude, instead, he had an air of pure evil around him.

Despite his usual look of glee and excitement, Gangrel looked like he sensed the same thing about Omofrisit that I did.

This battle definitely wasn't going to end well.

* * *

**(Omofrisit's POV)**

In the back of my mind, I knew that this was a bad idea that would likely get everyone else killed. But I just couldn't resist showing these demons to Validar, I mean come on, Validar is a complete scumbag. Not only did he hit me when I wasn't ready, but he broke the wall and he destroyed that beautiful tapestry, and that is completely unacceptable.

I could see the horror on his face, and all I could do was smile.

I extended my hand towards Validar and all at once, the demons charged him.

Hah, demons. I can't believe that's what they're called these days, they used to be nothing more than common monsters that you could see any day of the week if you went into the woods. But now that they've been gone for a few thousand years, they're referred to as demons. Unbelievable.

The monsters were doing their best to try and attack Validar, but he appeared to be too much for them, despite their advantage in numbers. As the monster's numbers began to dwindle, I joined the fight with all the ferocity I had.

I could see that Validar was having a hard time keeping up with what was left of the monsters as well as me. He was slowing down, and before long, he wouldn't be able to keep going at all. And that's when I would strike.

* * *

**(Hershel's POV)**

As I continued to watch the battle, I got the distinct feeling that things were tipped in Omofrisit's favor. But I also didn't know if Validar had something up his sleeve.

The battle raged on for hours. Omofrisit would be winning one moment, and Validar would be winning the next. The battle went back and forth and back and forth and back and forth. They had both slowed down considerably, but neither would quit.

After so long, it became apparent that we would be waiting a while longer still. And eventually, the king became bored.

"Gaaaaahhhhhh….I'm practically melting from boredom." Gangrel said while sliding down in his seat.

"I'm pretty bored too." I commented.

Suddenly, Gangrel got an excited look on his face.

"Then let's do something about it! C'mon, I want show you something." He said.

Gangrel stood up from his throne and started to walk through a side door before turning around and beckoning me to follow him.

I followed him through the door and down a flight of stairs to what seemed to be a dungeon. We passed many cells that had both live and dead prisoners. Water dripped from certain parts of the ceiling and the prisoners flocked to those areas as if the water was their salvation. The farther we went into the dungeon, the darker and darker it got until it was almost pitch black. But farther and farther down we went.

We reached the back wall of the dungeon, I expected whatever it was that Gangrel wanted to show me to be here, but he merely stared at the wall contemplatively before pushing on one of the stone bricks. The brick pushed into the wall and activated some kind of mechanism. The mechanism was loud to say the least, but it did cause the wall to open up just enough for a person to fit through.

Gangrel motioned for me to enter the secret room. I went through the opening into a mostly empty room, containing nothing but a bed, a table, a couple of chairs, and a few bookshelves. The only light source came from a candle on the table

As I continued to observe the room, wondering what Gangrel had wanted to show me, I heard the mechanism activate once again, causing the wall to close behind me.

"Your highness? What's going on?" I asked with a nervous chuckle.

"Well, I couldn't let you go completely unpunished for stealing my chance to kill Emmeryn. I had thought of so many ways to kill her too, but now she's gone, and I have no purpose left in life. So you're going to stay in that cell until I find a new purpose. GAH HA HA!"

"WHAT? B-b-but….I-I-I….no…" I said, my hope suddenly draining.

"Don't worry about your friends though, they'll still get what they requested. Heck, I'll even take care of your wyvern. And if you get bored, there are plenty of books to choose from. Bye-bye, Hershel. I'll come visit you later, and by later, I mean next year. GAH HA HA!"

As I sat on the floor contemplating my bleak future, I could hear the echo of footsteps walking away from the room I was in.

For a moment, I entertained the thought that Omofrisit and Frey would come to save me, but that hope was quickly dashed when I realized that they didn't know where I was, and they likely wouldn't find me even if they looked for me.

I could only imagine what my future held.

* * *

**A/N:WOW, this is not how I originally intended for this chapter to happen. Originally, this chapter would have ended with Hershel trying to be a standup comedian to entertain the king, and Omofrisit would win the battle with Validar. But despite that, I am extremely pleased with this chapter.**

**Please remember to review and let me know what you liked about this chapter and what you didn't like. Constructive criticism is a good thing.**

**Also, PM me if you'd like to ask me a question or if you'd like to do a collaboration story.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	20. Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty: A Dream of Sadness and Anger

* * *

**(Omofrisit's POV)**

The battle with Validar ended in a 'tie'. I was just about to kill Validar when the king announced that he was bored of the battle. This meant that Validar and I had to share his job. Neither of us liked this arrangement, but we were going to have to get used to it.

As soon as the details of the arrangements were worked out, I noticed that Hershel wasn't anywhere nearby. When I asked the king about this, he just told me that Hershel had gotten tired and was resting in his room.

Frey and I were led to our room and left with instructions to rest up before dinner. I was more than happy to do so, but Frey was worried about Hershel. I told him that Hershel was fine, but it did nothing to assuage his feelings of worry. I rolled my eyes and laid down on my bed, after a few seconds, Frey did the same, but I could tell he wasn't trying to sleep.

I rolled my eyes once again and began trying to sleep.

* * *

Once I fell asleep, I was thrown into a dream depicting what seemed to be Ylisse going up in flames. There were palace guards running to and fro, trying to rescue citizens from their burning homes. There were also monsters that seemed to be some kind of zombie; they certainly weren't anything I had commanded before.

And right in the middle of all this carnage and chaos, I could see the woman who called herself Marth, trying in vain to defeat a dragon that was at least a hundred times her size….Wait, a dragon?! Why a dragon? Where was I? And where were Hershel and Frey for that matter? Surely we were here somewhere.

I looked to around, trying to spot the three of us. Eventually, I saw Hershel commanding the legions of zombie-like creatures, a smile of mad glee dominating his face.

I ran to him, hoping to get some kind explanation as to what was going on here. I reached him and he immediately turned his attention to me.

"Ahh, Omofrisit. How good of you to join us! Are you finally ready to serve Master Grima and help us destroy this world?" He asked.

I was speechless for a moment, what must have happened to Hershel to make him change so drastically. And besides that, why was he serving this simple dragon known as Grima? Hershel was supposed to be serving me!

"Hershel, I don't know what has taken place here, but I need to know: Why do you bow to this dragon?"

"You don't remember? You wanted to conquer the world, and Master Grima wanted to destroy it. The two of you battled to see whose plan would be used, and you lost. But instead of submitting to Master Grima, you ran away like a coward."

At this point, Hershel had a face full of anger.

"Frey and I were given the option to join Grima or die. Frey immediately refused and was immediately killed; I couldn't even do anything about it. I looked at my options and saw that the most logical option was to join Grima, and I did so."

There were now tears in his eyes.

"Why..? Why didn't you take us with you? Why didn't you come back for us?! I thought that we were the best of friends….BUT YOU ABANDONED US!" Hershel broke down and began sobbing uncontrollably. "You have no idea what I was put through…what they did to me….and what they did with Frey's body." Hershel kneeled down and continued his sobbing.

I feared what he might tell me, but I said it anyway.

"Then why don't you tell me what happened?" I said, crouching down so we were face to face.

"They-they took Frey's body…they brought it back to life. At first, I was overjoyed that Frey was alive again. But he wasn't Frey anymore; he was nothing more than a mindless monster made to follow orders."

"…And…what did they do to you?" I asked hesitantly.

"Do you know what happens to your mind when you're left in a dark room, and you never see another human being? And when you're never fed, or given water? I was kept alive through magic alone. I never saw sunlight. I was never allowed to sleep. But the worst torture of all was the one that was self inflicted, the one where I actually believed you would come back for me. I held that hope in my heart for years. But you never came…and I was driven to madness simply because of that tiny ray of hope."

…What reason must I have had for never going back?

"But, why don't you run away from all of this?" I asked.

"For more than one reason. One: I don't want to run away like you did, I never want to be a coward like you. Two: Grima would never let me just walk away. And three: Believe it or not, killing things has become enjoyable; I honestly don't care what it is that I'm killing. There's just this rush of excitement and pleasure whenever I kill something…even now, looking at all the flames around us, I feel happy that I could make something like this happen." There was a sort of glazed look in his eyes as he grinned and surveyed the surrounding area.

"….Hershel….I'm sorry…That I never came back for you…" I could feel tears starting to run down my own face.

"SORRY!? Sorry doesn't cover it!" Hershel said, suddenly angry. "If you could turn back time and fix me and Frey, then I might forgive you! But for now, I can't even think about forgiveness!"

I'm not even sure why, but at this point I was willing to do anything to gain forgiveness.

"But…what if I killed Grima?" I asked.

"Kill…Grima?" A large smile made its way onto Hershel's face. "Ha..hah..haha..hahahaHAHAHAHA…GYAHAHAHAH! I don't think you understand the scope of Master Grima's power. In short, he's a god! You are nothing more than a man! AHAHA!"

"You're wrong. I am not merely a man. And what does it matter if he is a god? I have known many gods in my lifetime, and they are no better than monsters, even the 'righteous' gods are no better than scum." By this point I was shaking in anger.

Suddenly, there was a presence behind me and Hershel was bowing. I turned to find myself face to face with…Robin?

"Robin, what are you doing here?" I asked, slightly bewildered.

"I am no longer the man you call Robin. I am Grima. And I think it's about time you left this place."

Grima raised his hand and from it came a blast of white light.

* * *

I woke with a start and looked around. I was in my room at the Plegian palace. Frey was in his bed, it seemed he had finally fallen asleep.

What was that dream? It seemed so real, but it couldn't have been. But the question 'What if?' Wouldn't leave my mind. If that dream was an event yet to come, then I would need to find a way to speak with an old friend before that happened.

I was now just as worried about Hershel as Frey was, if not more so.

And Robin, why would he become Grima? Is he just using Chrom until the time is right for him to show his true colors?

I couldn't make much sense of the dream, but I knew I needed to find Hershel and Chrom as soon as possible.

* * *

**A/N: So, yet another chapter that did not come out the way I originally planned. If I keep this up, I'm gonna have to revise the entire story line. But whatever.**

**Review/PM to let me know what was good about this chapter and what was bad.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	21. Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-One: Colm

* * *

**(Frey's POV)**

Ever since we had woken up, Omofrisit seemed a bit…off. He kept mumbling to himself and spacing out, and whenever he looked at me, he'd get this pained look on his face. To be honest, I was starting to be concerned for his mental health.

I tried proposing that we have breakfast, but he didn't respond, and merely continued his musings. I shook my head and decided to eat by myself.

As I walked down the ornately decorated halls of the palace, I couldn't help but think about Omofrisit. Even when I tried to listen to his mumbling, none of it made a lick of sense. But from what I could gather, he was talking about some catastrophe that involved Hershel and myself. He also kept saying that something was 'all his fault'. He was starting to worry me.

I ate my breakfast in silence, pausing occasionally to glance out the window.

I soon found myself walking back to my room. To be honest, I didn't have any idea what to do today. For the last little while, Omofrisit or Hershel has had our days planned out. But I hadn't seen Hershel since yesterday, and Omofrisit was just out of it. Hopefully he'd be a tad more normal by the time I got back.

As I neared the door to our room, I felt the ground shake slightly, followed by a loud noise. I rushed over and pulled open the door only to find the room completely empty.

However, on the floor, there was some kind of magical circle with a note sitting next to it.

_Frey_

_I've had a vision of sorts. It would take me too long to explain it, but I can tell you that I have to find Chrom. I need you to find Hershel and keep an eye on him until I get back. This is of the utmost importance. Keep it to yourself._

_-Omofrisit_

What's going on? I thought we were finally safe. I thought we could all finally relax. I suppose I should have expected this though, knowing the two of them, I should have expected worse.

Well, I guess I should go find Hershel and try to keep him out of trouble.

Keyword: Try.

* * *

**(Omofrisit's POV)**

Ylisse. What a marvelous city. Nothing but clean streets and happy people. And yet, as I stared at it, I kept having flashes of my nightmare; the entire city burning, people screaming, and soldiers fighting desperately against those zombie-like creatures.

I shook it off and made my way towards the palace through the masses of people populating the streets.

Everyone seemed so happy. Completely unaware of the fate that would befall them. I almost felt sorry for them. But then again, my plan for world domination did involve setting a few major cities on fire, so I suppose it wasn't too bad.

I came to the palace gates only to be stopped by a couple of guards. One had a lance that was far longer than he was tall, and the other had a sword that was far too short for his towering height.

"And just where do you think you're going?" The short one asked.

"I need to speak with Chrom. It's a matter of dire importance." I said.

"The Exalt? I don't think we're supposed to let anyone in to see him right now. Isn't that right, Bob?" The tall one said.

"Right you are, Bill." Bob said.

"What were your exact instructions?" I asked.

"Let's see. They said 'No one is to see the Exalt unless they have knowledge pertaining to the location of the assassins who killed the previous Exalt.'" Bill said, obviously struggling with the big words. "Did I do good, Bob?"

"You did just fine, Bill."

"Well, if it makes any difference; I've met the Exalt on several occasions and I know where the assassins are hiding out." I said nonchalantly.

"Wha? Really?! Then right this way, sir." Bob said.

I followed Bob and Bill followed behind me. We entered the palace and I was reminded of the night in which Hershel killed the Exalt in cold blood. That was a good night.

We arrived at the double doors leading to the throne room and Bob grasped the handle of one of the doors. He gave a grunt and stopped pushing. He motioned for Bill to give him a hand. Together, they managed to push the door open.

Inside, I could see Chrom, Robin and Frederick huddled around a map with Lissa sitting in a nearby chair.

"Excuse me, milord-" Bob started.

"Not now! We are in the middle of devising a plan!" Chrom said angrily.

"But, sir!" Bill said.

"Leave me! Go back to your posts!" Chrom said.

I decided now was probably the time to say something.

"Good to see you again, Chrom." A wicked smirk made its way onto my face.

A look of recognition flashed on Chrom's face as he brought his head up to look at me.

"….You…" Chrom said in surprise.

Suddenly, Chrom's surprise morphed into anger. He leapt over the table in front of him and ran towards me, fists clenched. He swung his fist and it connected with my face. I fell to the ground but was immediately seized by my collar and pulled up.

"Give me on good reason why I shouldn't kill you here and now." Chrom said.

"Well, for one: You need my help. And two: I have important information relating to the safety of your kingdom." I smiled.

I felt kinda bad for the guy, I mean, we had just killed his sister. And then I came back, and he can't kill me? That doesn't seem very fair. But on the other hand, I hadn't had this much fun in a long time, and I couldn't wait to see what else would happen.

"…Explain."

"I know where Hershel is at. And…let's just say that there's a rather large threat hanging over your head, and over everyone else's heads for that matter."

"Guards, leave us!" Chrom barked.

Bob and Bill, startled by Chrom's command, scrambled to leave the room.

As soon as they were gone, I felt myself flying through the air. I collided with the wall and felt something crack. I managed to sit myself up and noticed that there was a sword at my throat.

"Talk." Chrom said simply.

"Well, I feel less inclined to give you the information while there's a sword point very near my neck. Perhaps we could discuss this over a cup of tea?" I suggested.

"Or, how about you tell me what I want to know, and I might spare your life."

Hmm, it seemed Chrom was nowhere near as trusting as he used to be.

"Right, well. In case you hadn't figured it out, Hershel is hiding out at the Plegian palace. And as for the imminent danger that you're in: It would seem that sometime in the semi-near future, a dragon by the name of Grima is going to lay waste to your precious kingdom." I added a smile at the end to improve my chances of survival.

Chrom's eyes went wide as he took a step back. But as soon as the surprise had come, it was gone.

"Are you sure?" Chrom asked.

"I'm fairly certain." I answered.

"If I may, how is it that you know this?" Frederick asked.

"Well, I had a, uh, dream about it. And the dream felt really real, so I came to tell you…"

Now that I had said it, it all sounded very silly. But I could feel that it was real, and that it would happen.

"Chrom, I'm of the opinion that he's either trying to distract us or he's just mad as a hatter." Robin chimed in.

"I think you may be right, Robin." Chrom said. "Frederick! Throw him in the dungeon."

"Yes, milord."

I was roughly seized by Frederick and dragged back out the door and down several hallways before finally arriving at a steel door.

Frederick unlocked the door and opened it wide. Inside, I could see nothing but darkness.

I was forced through the door and quickly discovered that there were stairs leading downward. Frederick ushered me down the stairs and past several cells.

Frederick stopped to unlock a cell and I was shoved inside.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure you have an execution date within the next few days." Frederick said before slamming the door shut.

I heard the door lock and then footsteps walking away from the cell.

I sighed and sat down in a back corner of the room.

"Finally! Someone else is here!" A voice said.

I jumped up and looked around the room, not that I could see anything.

"Show yourself!" I said.

"Of course." The voice said.

A candle lit up in the other back corner. The voice was revealed to be a boy who looked vaguely familiar.

"Oh…It's you.." He said.

And then it hit me. It was the boy named Colm who had been one of the thieves at the Ylissean palace on the night of the assassination. But I felt like I had seen him somewhere even before that…

"Oh, Colm..was it?" I asked.

"...Yes. Do you remember me?"

"I remember you from that night when the Exalt was killed."

"Ah, I see." He said, seeming rather disappointed.

There was obviously something he wasn't telling me.

"Well, how did you end up here?" I asked.

"I was captured the night of the assassination and I've been here ever since." He said. "But that's beside the point. Since you're here, you can help me make my escape."

"And...how would I do that?" I asked skeptically.

"That guy said he would have your execution date set soon. That's when we'll have a chance to get out, but my plan involves two people." He answered.

"Sooo, we just have to wait until then?"

"Yep. In the meantime, we can make prison shanks…and I'll try to jog your memory." He added the last part under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, nothing. Let's get to work on those shanks."

* * *

**(Hershel's POV)**

You know, once you get used to the solitude, silence, and lack of natural light, it's not so bad in here. I mean, I've got books to read. I've got candles. And I can at least talk to myself.

Bah, who am I kidding? It's miserable in here! There's no sunlight and the candles leave wax everywhere! The only thing I can actually enjoy is the books. And even then, only some of them. Most of the books are boring history books, but a few of them are books for learning magic.

In all, I've found books for wind, lightning, fire, dark and light magic…whatever the heck 'light magic' is.

I walked over to the shelves and picked out a book on the different types of magic.

I opened it up and began reading the introduction.

_Light magic and Dark magic are similar and yet completely different. As its name implies, Light magic creates flashes of light when it's used, varying from dim to blinding, depending on the spell and the user's skill level. Dark magic on the other hand creates darkness._

_Light magic and Dark magic are similar in the way that the power for the two types does not belong to the user, it is borrowed from a more powerful entity. For light magic, the power is borrowed from beings known as 'gods'. The gods told ancient man that man must believe in the gods in order to receive power._

_Borrowing power for Dark magic is much more sinister. It was made apparent through much research that to use Dark magic, one must use the power for murder. To use it for anything else, one would have to make a pact with the being known as 'The Demon King', but this is extremely risky, it has only been known to work once. A man named Lyon made a pact with the Demon King in order to save his kingdom, but even this was only a half-success. (To read more about Lyon and the Demon King, consult 'Ancient history of Plegia')_

The book went on to describe the other three types of magic.

But the part about Lyon was what caught my eye. Wasn't Lyon the name that Omofrisit said he had used long ago? And didn't he also say that he was a powerful sorcerer from the past?

Well, it seemed I would be reading the history books after all.

* * *

**A/N: This chapter went on quite a bit longer than I expected it to.**

**Tell me what you thought of this chapter through either PM or review.**

**And as always, Thanks for Reading!**


	22. Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Two: Plotting and Scheming

* * *

**(Omofrisit's POV)**

* * *

Finally! The shanks were done and it was almost dawn, meaning that it was almost time for my execution….yay…

Currently, we were waiting for the guards to come and escort me to the guillotine. (At least, I assume it'll be a guillotine.)

Colm was sitting in the corner, gripping his shank tightly with a look of concentration on his face. I stood near the door of the cell, contemplating the water that could be heard dripping from the ceiling of the cell into a small puddle.

_Drip…drip…drip…_

Footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs.

_Drip…drip…drip…_

The light of a torch could be seen as the guards descended further and further into the dungeon.

_Drip…drip…drip…_

Colm started to get restless, shifting his feet back and forth, trying to get into the perfect lunging position.

_Drip…drip…drip…_

"Step away from the door, scum!" A voice said from outside the cell.

_Drip…drip…drip…_

I flattened myself against the wall next to the door. The door was opened and the guards stepped in. Colm and I lunged at the same time, stabbing the throats of two guards.

_Drip..drop..drip..drop..drip..drop.._

The dripping of the water was now joined by the dripping of blood.

_Drip..drop..drip..drop.._

The two remaining guards were too slow. They were dead in a matter of seconds.

_Drip..drop..drip..drop.._

Their bodies fell lifelessly to the floor. Their blood, running through the cracks and crevices of the stone floor, found its way to the puddle of water.

_Drip…drip…drip…_

The water droplets were alone once again as they fell to the cold stone floor that was now coated in the still warm blood of the unfortunate guards.

_Drip…drip…drip…_

It seemed as if the dropping water would never stop, as if it would continue to drip long after this kingdom was gone. It almost seemed to have a will of its own, like it was desperate to reach that puddle on the floor, no matter the cost. I suppose they were kind of like me in that sense. We both had a specific goal in mind, and we would do anything to achieve that goal.

I suddenly realized that Colm was shaking me.

"What?" I asked.

"Are you okay? You were kinda spacing out there." He said, looking worried.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I was just thinking about something." I answered with a wave.

"All right, if you say so. Anyways, let's go while the coast is still clear."

He bolted out the door with barely a sound. I followed suit. But even as I ran up the stairs, I could still hear the dripping of the water.

_Drip…drip…drip…_

* * *

**(Frey's POV)**

I was honestly starting to get a bit worried. I had looked literally everywhere for Hershel, and I had found no sign that he had even been in the palace. The only thing I hadn't tried was asking the King or Validar.

I would almost certainly end up seriously injured or dead if I asked Validar. But asking the King was almost as dangerous. The man was a lunatic, who knew when he would snap and start killing people willy-nilly…but what choice did I have?

I marched into the throne room with a firm resolve. As soon as I entered though, I immediately felt foolish. Don't you normally request an audience if you want to talk to the King?

I took a deep breath and continued on, deciding to own up to it.

I drew closer to the King's throne and noticed the almost amused grin on his face.

I decided bowing might be the best idea at this point. I bowed and instantly I heard him laugh.

"Ahahaha. There's no reason to be so formal, after all, we are friends, are we not?" He said, a cruel grin making its way across his face.

I stood up straight a little awkwardly.

"I, uh, came to ask you a question." I stated.

"Well? Spit it out. I don't have all day, because as you can see, I am sooo terribly busy." He said with heavy sarcasm.

"Well, I was wondering if you knew where Hershel was. I've been looking for him all day, and I haven't found a trace of him."

"Ooohh, well why didn't you say so earlier? I'd been meaning to tell you, he's a bit…indisposed at the moment. GYAHAHA!"

I could tell something wasn't right.

"What did you do to him?!" I yelled.

"AHAHA. I haven't done anything to him. At least not yet, anyway. GAHAHAHA!"

After that, I couldn't get anything more out of him, he just kept laughing insanely.

I stormed out of the room. What was I supposed to do next? Hershel was probably dead and I had no way to contact Omofrisit.

For the first time since I met Hershel, I was completely and utterly alone. And I had no idea what to do with myself. I had no one left to turn to.

* * *

**(Hershel's POV)**

Okay, so as far as I could gather from the history books. Plegia was once an empire known as Grado and Lyon had been the prince of this empire. According to the books, Lyon had forseen a terrible event that would happen in Grado. In an attempt to stop it, he made a tried to use the power of the Demon King who was sealed inside what was known as a Sacred Stone.

The soul of the Demon King was drawn into Lyon's body. Lyon tried to control the Demon King, but was unsuccessful and his soul was devoured and the Demon King was resurrected. Shortly after this, however, the prince and princess of a neighboring country known as Renais (which seems to be partly Regna Ferox and partly Ylisse these days) defeated the Demon King and he was sealed away once more.

Hmm. But if Lyon's soul was devoured, then how could Omofrisit be Lyon? Gah! I wish I could ask him. Maybe he would be able to shed some light on this.

Well, now that I've finished reading about that, what else can I do? Let's see, I could try practicing magic or I could read some more history books that I'm not even interested in.

I'm thinking I would rather practice some magic.

I started flipping through the book.

Let's start with wind magic.

* * *

**(Robin's POV)**

After Omofrisit was hauled away to the dungeon, Chrom started working tirelessly on a plan to destroy Plegia. And I don't mean just kill Gangrel and Hershel. He wanted to completely destroy Plegia, plain and simple.

I tried telling him that we didn't have the man power to do such a thing, but still he insisted.

It was obvious that he was torn up about Emmeryn's death, but this was completely out of character for Chrom. Normally, he would've been depressed for a couple of days, but then he'd get over it and vow to be a better person so that no one would die because of him. Something was definitely wrong.

"Chrom." I said.

"What!?" He snapped, still poring over a map.

"Something is clearly wrong, and I need you to tell me what it is. Because even with all that Gangrel has done, you would never order an attack like this. There must be some other reason."

"Robin. This has nothing to do with Gangrel. This is about Hershel." He turned to face me. "I trusted Hershel, I brought him to Ylisstol. I very well could have left him in that forest to die, and I probably should have, but I didn't. I trusted him, and he thanked me by murdering my sister. What would you do?"

I thought for a moment.

"I would kill him. But I wouldn't destroy an entire kingdom with him, there are innocent people there. And they don't deserve to die, Chrom!"

"Emmeryn didn't deserve to die either, Robin!" Chrom yelled.

"Chrom…by starting a war with Plegia, you'll throw away everything that your sister worked so hard to build. Is that really what you want?"

"If it means avenging my sister, then yes."

He turned back to the map and began plotting Plegia's downfall once more.

I couldn't believe this. What had happened to the Chrom that rescued me?

I needed to talk to Frederick.

I left Chrom to his scheming and went looking for Frederick. I found him in the training hall, practicing with his lance.

"Frederick. I need to speak with you."

He stopped his training and walked over to me.

"Yes?" He asked.

"I assume you've noticed the change in Chrom's demeanor?"

"I have. What of it?"

"Wha? What of it!? Frederick! He's a completely different person, and if we don't stop him, he's going to kill everyone in Plegia!" I sighed. "Frederick, I need you to help me confine him until he cools off. I can't do it by myself."

"My apologies, but that would be treason. And after all, I am his protector before I am his friend."

I couldn't believe the words that were coming out of Frederick's mouth.

"And," Frederick continued. "Who else would be able to do the duties of the Exalt if Chrom was kidnapped by a few mysterious masked people while the guards are changing shift in precisely thirty minutes?" Frederick smiled and gave me a wink. "If I recall correctly; Stahl, Kellam and Cordelia are down at the garrison. You guys should get together and do something."

After that, he went back to his training.

I had never loved Frederick more than at that moment.

I ran to the Shepherd's garrison as fast as I could, already formulating a plan.

* * *

**A/N: Wow, I've just been uploading these chapters one after another; I'm just soooo fast at updating. (Please note the sarcasm filling that sentence.)**

**In all honesty, I was just lazy. I was on vacation for a week, and then I got lazy, and when I finally got back around to writing, I found that I had been cursed the vile curse known as 'Writer's Block'. And then I found some inspirational music, and it dispelled my writer's block, and here we are.**

**So anyway, tell me what you liked, what you didn't like, what I could improve upon. You know…the usual.**

**Reviews are appreciated. And by that, I mean, I need reviews to keep my health up. But you know, my health's not THAT important. So do whatever you want.**

**PM me if you have questions or comments that you like to discuss in private.**

**And as always: Thanks for Reading!**


	23. Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Three: Discussions of the Past

* * *

**(Robin's POV)**

"And that's the plan. Any questions?" I asked.

When I got down to the garrison, it was just as Frederick had said. Stahl, Cordelia, and Kellam were all here. I had gathered them all around a table and told them my plan, or rather, Frederick's plan, for kidnapping Chrom. The only thing I hadn't worked out was where we were going to keep Chrom once we snagged him.

Stahl raised his hand.

"I have a question."

I nodded.

"Why would you waste time coming up with this complicated plan when we could just have Kellam go in and grab him?"

I…actually hadn't thought of that. But I couldn't tell them that.

"Because it won't feel as satisfying if there's not a complicated plan."

Nice save.

Stahl held up his hands in surrender and chuckled.

"All right, whatever you say. You are the tactician after all."

Excellent. It was time to execute my brilliant plan.

* * *

The plan started out being totally awesome. We put on masks, we dodged guards like ninjas, we snuck through secret passages, Etc. Etc. But the throne room was where it got tricky.

"Who are you?!" Chrom demanded as soon as he saw us.

"We're here to, uh, kidnap you. So..don't even try to resist." I said.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Stahl face-palming.

Chrom sighed.

"Look, I know that's you, Robin. I'd recognize your voice anywhere. Now if you three could stop clowning around, we have actual work to do."

We all hung our heads and took off our masks.

What did I have to do to stop Chrom from waging this war? Frederick had given me a chance, but I had wasted it. And from the looks of things, it seems that he's completed his plan for the complete and utter annihilation of Plegia.

Chrom was explaining the plan to us, but I wasn't listening. My mind was still trying to find some way of dissuading Chrom from doing this. But so far, I couldn't think of anything that would stop-…Wait, there is something that can stop him, or more appropriately, someone. Omofrisit!

As much as I dislike the idea of having to get help from him, it doesn't change the fact that he's the only person I've ever seen who could best Chrom. Granted his methods of beating Chrom were extremely underhanded, but he would have to do.

I rushed to the dungeon and started making my way down the stairs. To my surprise, as I was heading down, I met Omofrisit coming up with another person in tow.

I stopped dead in my tracks and Omofrisit did the same. Strangely, I couldn't find a trace of fear in him, despite being caught trying to break out of the dungeon on the day of his execution.

"Aaand where do you think you're going?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

Omofrisit took a second to respond, possibly trying to formulate a plan to take me out and get passed.

"We were just on our way to see Chrom. I had something else I needed to tell him."

Omofrisit spoke hesitantly, like he wasn't sure of something.

"Well, I have something of a…request for you, Omofrisit."

Every part of my body is telling me not to trust him, but I have to.

"Oh? Considering the position I'm in, I'm more than happy to listen."

There's that smug grin of his.

"Let me get you up to speed first. Chrom has been grief stricken ever since the previous Exalt's death. He blames Hershel for it but he doesn't know Hershel's exact location, so he plans to destroy all of Plegia to kill him which, as you can imagine, is not the best idea he's ever had." I took a deep breath.

"What do you want me to do about it?"

"I was hoping you could, and I can't believe I'm saying this, fight for Plegia and possibly defeat Chrom."

I held my breath, expecting him to reject my plan.

He mulled it over for a second before speaking.

"What's in it for me?"

"At this point, I'd say that it's kind of a name your price situation."

His eyes lit up at this and I suddenly had a bad feeling.

"In that case, I'd like to get a royal pardon for me and my friend here, Colm. And I'd like two horses, and as many supplies as the horses can carry, and…your soul."

I stared at him in horror. Why would he want my soul, and how exactly was I supposed to give it to him?

Wait. Was Omofrisit trying not to laugh?...He was!

"Ahaha, I'm sorry, I just had to. Haha. Whoo, your face was priceless. Ohhh, that was definitely worth my time."

"Yeah, haha, funny. Now come on, I'll get you your stuff and you can be on your way." I said

"Wait! We need to shake hands to seal the deal, right?"

I looked at him for a second, was he serious? He wanted to shake hands at a time like this? He almost sounded desperate though.

I shook his hand and immediately had the strangest sensation run through my body. I couldn't quite describe what it felt like, but considering who's hand I had just shook, I felt more than a little uneasy about it.

"Okay then. Let's be on our way. C'mon, Colm."

The two of them walk passed me and up the stairs, and as they did so, I could see an unmistakable smile on Omofrisit's face, and a devilish glint in his eye. I simply stood there, wondering what I may have just done.

* * *

**(Frey's POV)**

I've been sitting here for hours, and I still can't figure out what to do. I suppose I could go find Omofrisit, but then again, he told me to stay right here and look for Hershel. But I already know that Hershel was somewhere where I probably won't find him. But I suppose I could try looking around the castle again.

Not in the kitchen.

Not in the throne room.

Not in the training room.

Not in our room.

Not in the hallways.

Not in the stables.

Not in the library.

And not in the dungeon.

Well, that's it then, I'm just gonna have to wait until Omofrisit gets back…But what if he doesn't come back? What'll I do then? I'll have nowhere to go and no one to turn to. No. I have to believe he'll come back. I'll just wait, for however long it takes. Please come back soon, Omofrisit.

* * *

**(Hershel's POV)**

A rush of wind circled around the room, coming from seemingly nowhere. It persisted for a few more seconds before dissipating.

In the space of however long I was working on it (it's hard to keep track of time in a dungeon cell with no windows.), I had managed to use wind magic! Of course, I couldn't use it offensively yet; I had just managed to make the air move. But learning to attack was the next step in the book.

Okay, let's see what it says…Um…mhmm…okay. Easy enough. Apparently, I just have to concentrate really hard and speak the incantation written in the book.

I began concentrating, but before I could speak the incantation, the wind began to strike the wall in front of me relentlessly.

Huh, that's strange. I didn't even say anything yet. Not like I'm complaining…but still…

I set down the wind magic book and picked up the fire one. After reading through a bit of it, I realized that the basics of fire and wind (and presumably thunder as well) were the same. All I really had to do was figure out how to concentrate my magic energy into the form of fire instead of wind.

Hours later and through much trial and error, I finally managed to shoot a small fire ball. It wasn't much, probably only enough to singe eyebrows, but it was progress. A few more hours and I'd have it perfected…But then I'll have to work on thunder…bleh, it's gonna be a long day.

* * *

**(Omofrisit's POV)**

Haha! Well isn't that something. Colm and I have been released out of necessity! And now we're riding safely back to Plegia to pick up Frey and Hershel and then we're getting the heck out of dodge.

Colm still seemed to be pondering something though. He had this really concentrated look on his face and he kept glancing at me when he thought I wasn't paying attention.

"Hey, Colm. You got something to say?" I asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you keep looking at me funny. So what's the deal?"

He took a deep breath and paused.

"Fine, I've been meaning to talk to you anyway. But before anything else, I have one question: Are you Lyon?"

I was worried he might notice. If I tell him the truth, it could cause some major problems. But if I lie, he'll ask even more questions. What to do, what to do…

"I am."

"I have more than a few questions for you. First off, how are you still alive? I was there at the Black Temple, I saw you die by Ephraim's hand."

"Don't mention Ephraim! At least, not now." I said. "I do not wish to be reminded of the events that transpired that day.

"I am a Necromancer and I made a pact with the Demon King, this enabled me to keep my consciousness alive even after my body died and decayed. As nothing more than my own mind, I survived in a…void until I had amassed enough power to recreate my body and return to this world.

"Now, if you don't mind my asking, how are _you_ still alive? If I remember correctly, you survived the war. But even so, it's been quite some time, and from the looks of it, you're not hundreds of years old."

"After the war, I returned to my home village. But after a while, it got dull, there was nothing left for me to do there, so I started walking. I didn't know what I was looking for, but I continued walking anyway. Eventually, I happened upon something known as the Outrealm Gate, it was a large blue swirl standing upright inside of a gateway. I didn't know what to make of it, I tried to touching it, and I was immediately sucked in and fell unconscious somewhere along the way. When I came to, I was in an unfamiliar place, and no matter where I went, I could find no trace of the people or places I once knew. I resigned myself to the fact that I would never get back. It was a few weeks later that I saw you during the Exalt's assassination attempt, and I became hopeful that there was a way back. Now here's my second question: Is there a way back?"

"…There is. But it requires the power of a god, or the power of the Demon King. And if you were telling me the truth, it's possible we could use the Outrealm Gate as well." I said.

"You said 'we', like you were going to go back as well." Colm commented.

"I…was planning on going back, but I have some business to attend to before I can consider that."

Colm looked at me suspiciously.

"What type of 'business'?" He asked.

"I have some friends that are in need of my help, and I can't go back until I have helped them."

Colm shrugged his shoulders but still seemed to be suspicious.

We rode in silence for the rest of the ride to Plegia.

* * *

It wasn't entirely clear, but I was pretty sure that Colm was trying to decide whether to trust me or not. I couldn't blame him, considering what our history was.

Something was bothering me though; if Colm had found the Outrealm Gate and come here, could others from our time have made it too? Could Ephraim and Eirika…? Only time will tell.

We arrived at the palace and we had no problems getting into the castle, but once inside the castle, it was apparent that something was wrong. Not two minutes after we entered, Frey came running towards me in a panic.

"Omofrisitthankgoodnessyou'rebackIwasworriedyouwerenevercomingbackIwenttolookforHershelbutIcouldn'tfindhimandthenIwenttoaskthekingifheknewwherehewasandhesaidhehadn'tdonenythingtohimyetandIdon'tknowwhattodo!"

"….I beg your pardon?..." Colm said.

"Okay, Frey. Just calm down and tell me what's wrong." I said.

"Okay, okay, okay." He took a deep breath. "You told me to find Hershel and stay with him. I looked for him everywhere, but I couldn't find him. So then I went to ask the King, and he just laughed and said that he hadn't done anything to him _yet_. And that's when I panicked, but I couldn't do anything until you got back."

He took another deep breath and started to calm down.

"All right. I guess I'll have a word with the King then." I said.

I began walking towards the throne room. Colm and Frey followed behind me.

Hmm, depending on the King's answer, this might get messy.

* * *

**A/N: Woohoo! Good length chapter….I think.**

**Let me know what you liked and didn't like about this chapter. Reviews are always appreciated. PM me if you have a question.**

**Also, let me know if you actually read the author's note, because I get the feeling nobody does.**

**But anyway. Thanks for Reading!**


	24. Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Four: New Management

* * *

**(Omofrisit's POV)**

I stalked into the throne room to find King Gangrel sitting on his throne and looking bored out of his mind. Frey, Colm and I bowed and made our presence known.

"Is there something I can help you with?" Gangrel asked, still bored.

"I was hoping you could tell us where Hershel is." I said.

Immediately, Gangrel's face lit up as if I had just told him that Christmas came early.

"Oh! So you're still looking for him? GYAHAHA! You should have stopped looking long ago, there's no way you'll find him. In fact, at this point, he's probably getting dehydrated. He might even be dead! GYAHAHAHA!"

I was done with this. I had had enough of this man since the first time I saw him. Hershel was going to play a vital role in my plan, and no one was going to keep him from playing that role.

"Gangrel! I demand that you tell me where you have hidden Hershel!" I yelled.

Gangrel stopped laughing. Instead, he now had a curious look on his face.

"Oh? And who are you to demand anything of me?"

As much as I wanted to, I couldn't tell him who I really was. He would dismiss it as nothing more than a lie. So what was I supposed to do?

"Fine, you have a point but how about an exchange of information?"

"Now you have my attention. What have you got for me?" Gangrel asked.

"Chrom is planning to attack Plegia and completely wipe it out."

"Oh, everyone's going to love that. Yet another Mad King comes from Ylisse. I can hardly contain my excitement! Validar, Prepare for war!" Gangrel yelled.

"Now, Hershel's location?" I said.

"Why would I tell you that?"

"Because we had an agreement! I warned you of impending war, and you would tell me his location!"

"I never agreed to anything, I just asked what you had for me." Gangrel said with a sly grin.

_Swine! Imbecile! Scum! How did I not notice that? I've had plenty of time to work on my deal making skills; I've had so much time in that void to practice my wording. How could I have missed the fact that he never agreed? I must have been too riled up. Even now, I can feel my anger rising every second I stare at his face._

I could feel myself shaking in anger. It wasn't directed at him so much as it was directed at me for being so blind to his obvious trick.

I couldn't hold it in any more. I cast a flux spell directly at Gangrel. His face went from smiling and overconfident to surprise and something akin to fear.

The spell hit him dead on. He tumbled from his throne down to the floor and lied there unmoving.

"D-did you just kill the King?" Frey asked.

"Sure looks like he did." Colm said.

I was about to agree with Colm before I heard laughing.

"Hah…haha….haha…Don't..hah..write me off…too…quickly."

Gangrel began to stand up, leaning on his sword for support. He pulled a small blue bottle out of his pocket and proceeded to down the contents of it. The elixir completely healed him and he stood up without a support, like the attack had never happened.

"Well then, if it's a fight you want, then it's a fight you'll get. But I can't promise that I'll play fair."

Gangrel lunged with his sword and I jumped back just in time to dodge. I felt proud of myself at first, but my pride was snatched away by bolt of lightning that was shot from Gangrel's sword. It hit me square in the chest and knocked me back. I could see Gangrel smiling at me.

Frey and Colm both backed off, probably thinking it was dangerous.

I dodged another swipe from Gangrel and responded with a nosferatu spell. Gangrel dodged (much to my amazement) and sent another bolt of lightning my way. I didn't have time to dodge this one; instead, I countered it with a fire spell. A small explosion occurred, and due to the smoke, I couldn't see Gangrel anymore. I scanned the cloud of smoke for any sign of him but could find none.

All of a sudden, Gangrel dashed through the smoke slashing my arm and leaving a sizable cut. I grunted in pain and stumbled back. I snarled at Gangrel and let loose a stream of spells. Through some divine prank, he managed to dodge every single one of them, and not only that, but he managed to send lightning my way as well. The lightning hit me and I fell to one knee.

_How!? How is it that he can be so powerful? Or perhaps it is that I am weak. But no matter, I have one more trick up my sleeve._

* * *

**(Frey's POV)**

I watched the battle, wondering if I should interfere. I was kind of hoping that Omofrisit would kill Gangrel, but at the same time, if Gangrel died, Plegia would be left without a king. And if what Omofrisit had said was true, and Chrom was going to wage war against Plegia, now was not the time for this country to be without a king.

The battle quickly began to tip in Gangrel's favor. And I began to worry for Omofrisit. Every time Gangrel struck him, Omofrisit would become more enraged and more reckless. It was clear that Omofrisit would lose if something wasn't done. But just as I worked up the courage to interfere, Omofrisit extended his hand towards Colm and me. And not a second later, I passed out.

* * *

When I came to, the battle was over. Omofrisit was standing victorious over Gangrel's bloodied body.

I stood up from my position on the floor and ran to Omofrisit's side. I looked down at Gangrel to see his body littered with deep lacerations and burns. But despite it all, he still had that manic grin on his face. Omofrisit was staring down at him with what seemed to be pity.

"It would-Urgh-seem that you've…woken up…" Gangrel said to me. "You missed…quite a-GAH-show."

I looked at Omofrisit, not knowing what to say. How had he beaten Gangrel so badly? Before I fell unconscious, Gangrel was winning. So what happened while I slept?

Gangrel turned his gaze to Omofrisit.

"Don't...worry…your secret is-AGH-…safe with…me."

"Thank you. But I'm afraid you won't live much longer, these wounds can't be healed." Omofrisit said.

"Oh…bummer. Well, I'll be…waiting for you…in hell."

Gangrel's eyes closed, his breathing stilled, and his body went limp. But even so, his smile still remained.

I looked to Omofrisit once again. He met my gaze, but his eyes still held pity for the man lying before us.

"Now what?" Was all I could muster.

"Considering the impending attack, someone has to take his place. And it might as well be me, since I have experience ruling a country, and…because I feel I owe it to him…"

_What happened between them? Before I fell asleep, Omofrisit was ready to kill anything that got between him and Gangrel. But now, Omofrisit looks like he's sad that Gangrel's dead._

"Did he tell you Hershel's location?" Colm asked.

"…No. That's the one thing that he wouldn't tell me. He held out right up to the very end. We'll have to find him ourselves." Omofrisit said. "Frey: Take Colm and search the dungeons thoroughly. I'm going to take care of this body, and then I must alert the people to their change in leadership."

Omofrisit hefted the body over his shoulder and left the room to do whatever he was going to do.

Colm and I left for the dungeons; passing many confused guards who had just seen Omofrisit pass by with the body of their king.

We entered the dungeon and started checking the cells for Hershel. Most of the cells were completely empty, but a few held the remains of dead prisoners. We came to the last cell, hoping that Hershel was inside, and opened the door. There was a living person inside, much to our delight. But unfortunately, it wasn't Hershel.

The man looked up at us, his face showing some form of recognition when he saw me.

"Heeeey, I know you. You're that guy that was sleeping in the alley." He said.

I was slightly taken aback. First off, I didn't know this guy. And second, I had never slept in an alley. But then I remembered that I was disguised as Hershel's identical twin.

"I'm sorry, but I've never met you. It's possible that you met my twin brother Hershel though." I said.

"Ah, I see."

"If I may, when was the last time you saw his brother?" Colm asked.

"Last I knew, he was headed to Ferox for the tournament. But that was months ago."

"Oh. Okay." I said, feeling a little disappointed.

"So why did you guys come down here anyway? It's not time for my execution yet." The man asked.

"Well, we came down here looking for Hershel. The previous king stashed him somewhere and we're trying to find him." Colm said.

"Wait. You just said 'previous king'. What does that mean?"

"Gangrel is dead and someone else has taken his place."

"Really? Then would you mind letting me go? I have places to be."

"Why would we let you go? You're probably in here for a good reason, right?" I asked.

"No. I'm in here because I hauled in a criminal who just so happened to be one of Gangrel's lackeys." He said.

"As much as I'd like to believe you, the fact that you're in prison says that I shouldn't trust you. Sorry." Colm said.

_What Colm was saying was understandable, but this guy was imprisoned by Gangrel, meaning that he probably did something good and Gangrel didn't like it. So this man's story was probably true. And he knows who Hershel is, so maybe he could help us find him._

I explained my reasoning to Colm and after much debate, I convinced him that we should have this man help us find Hershel. Colm still didn't like the idea, but he consented to it anyway, knowing that I wouldn't drop it.

"We've decided to let you go. But on one condition: You have to help us find Hershel." I said.

"As long as I get out of this cell, it's fine by me." He said.

Colm walked over and picked the lock on his shackles. The man rubbed his wrists as he got up. As he walked over to us, I extended my hand for a handshake.

"My name is Frey Ferris. Good to meet you." I said with a smile.

"Cogan Jarrick." He said, shaking my hand.

I looked at Colm, expecting him to introduce himself. When he didn't, I went ahead and introduced him.

"And his name is Colm, not sure if he has a last name." I said.

Cogan nodded in his direction.

"Would you mind if I got a weapon?" Cogan asked.

"Oh, sure. I suppose that could be important." I said.

We left the dungeon and headed to the armory.

Now that Cogan was in the light, I could see what he looked like. He had medium tanned skin, most likely from being outside a lot. His hair was long and dark brown, but it was tied up into a ponytail. And his eyes were a sharp, electric blue. His outfit consisted of a leather duster over a simple shirt and pantaloons, as well as a wide-brimmed hat and leather boots.

We entered the armory and I was stunned by the sheer amount of weaponry and armor that was stored here. Gangrel really must have been expecting a war.

Cogan grabbed a breastplate and some arm bracers that he put on underneath his duster. He looked at a few different swords before finally deciding on a steel sword.

Colm also picked up a new sword, putting his old one on the shelf where the new one used to be. I went ahead and grabbed a new sword as well. I'd had this sword for long time, and who knew when it would break, plus we were preparing for a war.

"So, what brought on the change in leadership around here?" Cogan asked.

"Like we said before; Gangrel stashed Hershel somewhere and wouldn't tell us where, so our friend got mad and killed him." Colm said nonchalantly.

"Huh, okay. Where do you suppose we should start looking for Hershel?"

"Not sure. But at this point, it's probably more important to start preparing for war." Colm said.

"…War?" Cogan said, confused.

"Oh yeah, you've been in a cell. Simply put, Ylisse is going to wage war against Plegia."

"Hmm. I don't see any reason why you would lie to me, but I can't see Exalt Emmeryn doing such a thing."

_How long has he been in that cell?_

"Emmeryn is dead. Her brother is the new Exalt." I said.

_Man, I still can't say that without getting slightly depressed._

"Well, it looks like a lot of places are under new management these days." Cogan commented.

* * *

**(Hershel's POV)**

_Well, this could be problematic. I'm starting to get really thirsty. I've been in this hidden cell for who knows how long, and I haven't had any water or food since I got in here. And it's not like I could find any water dripping from the ceiling seeing as I'm underneath a desert…I'm also starting to get hungry…_

I looked around the room, trying to find anything that might quench my thirst. So far, the only thing that was remotely close to liquid was melted wax from my candles.

I heard a squeak near my feet and looked down to find a rat nibbling on a scrap of paper.

_Should I?...I don't know, that seems pretty disgusting…and slightly morbid. But…if I don't eat and drink something soon, I'll collapse from dehydration. Gaah, I have to._

I lowered my hand slowly so as not to startle the rat, and then quickly swiped my hand at it. I managed to grab the rat, but it immediately started clawing at my hand. I squeezed it, making it struggle harder until it finally died. I stared at the dead rat in my hand, still debating whether this was a good idea or not.

_I already killed the rat, so I guess it's too late to turn back now._

I raised the rat to my lips and sunk my teeth into it. I felt the rush of warm blood flowing over my tongue. It tasted strongly of iron, but it was quenching my thirst. The red liquid dripped down my chin as I continued to drain the rat's body of its blood.

Pretty soon, there was no blood left in its tiny body. I lowered the dead rat from my mouth and started to question some of my life choices. I sunk down to the floor and began sobbing.

_Why?! Why was this my fate?! Why did it have to be me that killed the Exalt?! Because of that, both Chrom and Gangrel hate me! Even if I ever get out of here, I'll have nowhere to go! But even so…I have no one to blame but myself…I was the one who killed Emmeryn, and now I'm the one that has to pay for it…_

_I wonder if Omofrisit and Frey are even looking for me. They're probably better off without me anyway…All I ever did was cause trouble for them. And Chrom…I not only caused him trouble, but also indescribable heartache…_

_Omofrisit…Frey…Chrom…I'm sorry…so sorry…_

* * *

**A/N: Well, it's official. I have lost my mind. The whole chapter was completely normal, and I intended for it to be normal, but then there was the part with the rat. I'm still not sure why I wrote that, but I did.**

**Anywho. Please drop a review, and PM me if you have any questions.**

**Thanks for Reading!**


	25. Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Five: War Approaches

* * *

**(Omofrisit's POV)**

It was somehow strange to see Validar bowing before me and saying 'Yes, your majesty'. I could tell just by looking at him that he hated my guts, but for some reason, he still put up with me being the new king.

I had ordered Validar to organize a search party to look for Hershel, but so far, they hadn't found even a trace of him. I had to wonder how Gangrel could have hidden him so well without even Validar knowing where to look. We had searched the dungeons, the palace, the surrounding villages, and we had even begun searching the surrounding countries. Normally, I wouldn't go so far for one person, but Hershel was the key to my plan, and as such, I couldn't just let him die. But with how hard it was to find him, my best guess was that Gangrel had just killed him and thrown him in a ditch.

It was getting to the point that my advisers were urging me to stop the search on account of the fact that we had a war coming our way from Ylisse, but I needed Hershel.

Frey, Colm and Cogan were overseeing the palace defenses, but they were having a hard time organizing enough people to man all the posts due to the fact that I had the majority of the soldiers out searching for Hershel. And besides that, there were many that didn't accept me as the king and left for other lands.

The weight of everything was starting to come crashing down on me, and it was getting tough to refuse the adviser's petitions to stop the search and focus on the war.

_I don't know what to do anymore. I shouldn't have let Hershel out of my sight for even a second._

"My lord!"

I looked up to find Validar standing before me once more.

"What is it?" I asked rather glumly.

"It's time you called of the search, we've been looking for days now and we still haven't found a single clue as to where he went. Don't you think it's possible that he left of his own accord?"

"That's preposterous. Hershel wouldn't have just up and left without telling anyone." I said.

Validar raised his hands in surrender. "It was just a suggestion, but either way, we have a full fledged war coming our way right now. We need to put all of our resources into repelling the attack."

…_Maybe he's right, I suppose we could always keep looking for him afterwards, but if we don't win this war, we won't get that chance…_

"…Very well. Call the search parties back and have them take whatever posts you think need extra soldiers."

"Yes, milord." Validar said with a bow.

I only saw for a second so I couldn't be sure, but I thought I saw Validar smiling. That didn't bode well for the rest of us.

* * *

**(Frey's POV)**

I wasn't entirely sure why, but Omofrisit seemed to think it was a good idea to put me in charge of an entire squad of soldiers, and to add to that, my soldiers were in charge of defending the ramparts. I could tell that some of the soldiers thought I wasn't fit for the job, while others followed my every order with exactness, probably only due to the fact that I was appointed to be their leader and thus they felt obligated to follow.

Cogan and Colm had been put in charge of their own squads, and between the three of us, Cogan was the only one that was able to command the full respect of his squad.

Other than us, there were a few others who I assumed were already commanders before we got here. There was a large, bald man named Mustafa. A woman who looked much too young to be a commander. She had a somewhat dark complexion, blue eyes, and purple hair. She had light blue armor and gauntlets over a white tunic and brown pants, with silver boots to top it all off. She had an expression on her face that just screamed 'Stay out of my way', and because of that, everyone did stay out of her way. Come to think of it, I didn't even know what her name was, but I wasn't about to approach her over something like that. I decided it would be best to just avoid her overall. And lastly, there was a sorcerer in a heavy cloak who never spoke, and yet somehow managed to command his soldiers without speaking to them. No one even knew his name, most just referred to him simply as "The Sorcerer".

I looked back out over the ramparts and saw some of our soldiers coming back to the palace. I sighed.

_Seems Omofrisit called off the search. Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing though._

I decided to go see if Omofrisit had a plan for beating Chrom. I ordered my soldiers to stay put and headed to the throne room.

As I walked down the hallways of the palace, I couldn't help but wonder where Hershel was at, or if he was even alive at all. I felt like he was alive, but given the circumstances, logic told me he was dead, but I couldn't lose hope. After this war I'll start searching for him again, and hopefully Omofrisit will do the same.

I reached the throne room and opened the doors without hesitation. Omofrisit was sitting on his throne with a look of frustration on his face. Without even looking at me, Omofrisit started speaking.

"Do you think I did the right thing?" He asked.

"About what?"

"Calling off the search for Hershel." He explained

"Look, I want to find him too. But right now, we're fighting a war, and besides that, our army is divided between those who have accepted you as the king and those who have not. For the time being, both halves of our army are cooperating but before long, the disgruntled half is going to rebel and if that happens while we're fighting Ylisse, there's no way we can win. So right now I suggest you concentrate on the war, and we'll worry about Hershel afterwards, okay?"

Omofrisit mulled over my words for a while before addressing me once again.

"I…suppose you're right." He said, still not looking at me.

He turned his head towards me and looked me dead in the eye. I was shocked to see a mixture of anger and hatred in his eyes, I had no idea who it was directed towards, but it was frightening to see.

"Frey, I'm going to ask something of you that might seem cowardly."

"O-okay." I said with my eyebrow raised in confusion.

"Before Chrom and his armies reach the palace, I need you to build a secret exit out of the palace so that if things get bad then you, me and the others can get out without being captured or killed." He said.

He was right, that did seem cowardly. Maybe he just wasn't used to the role of being a king yet, but a king was supposed to fight till the bitter end to defend his land and his people. I was about to get mad and tell him exactly that, but then I saw that same look in his eyes; Nothing but anger and hatred. I muttered a quiet 'okay' under my breath and left the throne room.

Even after I broke my eyes away from his, that look in his eye haunted me, and the more I thought about it, the more it seemed unnatural, almost otherworldly. I figured it would be best to steer clear of him for a while.

* * *

**(Hershel's POV)**

I sat….and sat...and sat some more. It was all I could do. I had no energy left to practice my magic, or to try escaping this cell. I was getting thirsty, and at this point, no amount of rat blood was going to quench my thirst. A few days ago, I could feel death hanging over me, just waiting for the right time to swoop down and collect me. But now it felt like death was an old friend, beckoning me to join it somewhere peaceful and pleasant…and I was about to give in. The only thing that kept me from giving up entirely was the sounds, I could occasionally hear noises up above, I couldn't tell what was making the noise, but sounds meant something was moving and that meant that regardless of what was moving, people couldn't be too far away. But even the hope that that gave me was starting to fade.

I wondered, for the thousandth time, if Omofrisit and Frey were looking for me, or if they even cared that I was gone. Maybe they were better off without me, all I did was cause trouble after all.

Gah! Hunger and thirst were starting to consume me, I had to find some way out of here no matter how weak I was. The only problem with that plan was that I had tried everything to get out of here. Presumably, the only way out was the stone that Gangrel had pushed to open the door, but the wall was seamless and I had no way of pushing the button…unless…

I jumped up with strength I didn't think I had before pull a particular book off the shelf. In my hands I held an Elwind tome. My plan was to pull wind through the dungeon hall outside my cell with enough force to push the brick into the wall and activate the door mechanism.

This plan had to work, if it didn't, I would most likely cry and I would probably abandon all hope.

I stood next to the wall where I knew the door was and started reading from the tome. I could hear the air starting to stir outside my cell, encouraging me to chant faster. The wind picked up and I could hear it rolling some pebbles around. This could actually work. For the first time in what seemed like forever, I had hope that I'd be able to make it out of here. I concentrated even harder on casting my spell. The wind was howling through the dungeon corridor outside and I wondered how nobody had heard it yet.

I continued the spell, but I could feel myself weakening. The adrenaline rush from before was gone and I could hardly stay standing anymore, I tried to keep it up, but I couldn't do it anymore, I collapsed. I watched the wall for a moment, expecting the loud mechanism to start up and for the door to open…but nothing happened.

I could feel my eyes starting to tear up, which was strange because I didn't feel anything. No sadness, no anger, no frustration, just emptiness and loneliness. But my eyes continued to release tears to the point where I could no longer see anything.

I just layed there…and layed…and layed some more. It was all I could do at this point.

* * *

**(Robin's POV)**

This war was foolish. There was no reason for this war other than Chrom's personal vendetta against Hershel. Innocent people were going to die because Chrom couldn't put the past behind him. I agreed with Chrom on the point that Emmeryn's death couldn't go unpunished, but this was the wrong way to go about punishing Hershel, for all we knew, Hershel might not even be there, and then it would be the innocent people that would be punished for Hershel's crime.

I had tried arguing Chrom out of this war too many times to count, but he was dead set on carrying it out. I still couldn't understand how Chrom could have changed so much. His sister had died and that had to be traumatic, but Chrom was strong and I hadn't expected it to affect him this much. There had to be something more to this than we thought, he wasn't even treating the rest of us like he used to, he was acting like we were merely tools to be used for his revenge, and anyone who knew Chrom knew that he would never treat people that way.

At this point, we were on our way to Plegia to begin the war. Chrom had already laid out a plan, with grudging help from myself, and he was prepared to decimate the entire nation if need be. Needless to say, none of us were too thrilled about that prospect. Some of us had even begun planning some way to detain Chrom, by force if necessary. Frederick was on our side, but he couldn't do anything directly due to his title and rank, but he was able to keep our planning on the down low.

All I could think about right now was how we could stop this war before it was too late. Trying to talk Chrom out of it wasn't going to happen, so the only other option was to try and talk to Gangrel and have him hand over Hershel. But this was Gangrel we were talking about, if there was a war, Gangrel was more than happy to participate. So what could I do? Nothing…absolutely nothing. I could only hope Plegia had a plan to end the war quickly.

* * *

**A/N: WOOOOO! I finally updated! Aren't you guys proud of me?! But in all seriousness, there have been more than a few reasons for the delay. College, mental issues, physical issues. Y'know, the usual. But all that is beside the point.**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Tell me what you thought of this chapter through either review or PM. And if you're going to criticize, at least give me constructive criticism.**

**I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving, for those of you who celebrate it, and I hope you have an awesome Christmas season if you celebrate that.**


	26. Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Six: War Has Come

* * *

**(Robin's POV)**

We were in now in Plegia, storming the countryside and making our way to the palace. We had run into a few groups of bandits and brigands, but nothing as organized as the group before us. Based on their robes, I could only assume they were Grimleal. And they were not happy to see us.

The battle had been relatively easy, mostly because Chrom wouldn't tolerate being impeded. At some point, a large mercenary man and a small girl had become entangled in the battle. Chrom either didn't care or didn't notice them and simply continued to fight, so I went ahead and made sure they were safe. Lucky for us, the mercenary was looking for work, and the girl turned out to be an extremely grateful Manakete.

From my current point of view, the war seemed to be tipped in our favor. We hadn't had a single casualty, we were nearing the Plegian palace, and we had gained a few more allies.

In terms of winning the war, things were looking up. But that still didn't make it right. This war was going to destroy at least one country, but it remained to be seen whether it would be Plegia or Ylisse that was destroyed. And to make matters worse, there was no trace of the old Chrom that everyone knew and loved. He was becoming more and more bloodthirsty by the minute, and I still couldn't deduce why. Surely this was about more than just Emmeryn. If that was the only reason, then Chrom had a weaker mind then I had thought, but I hoped that that wasn't the case.

Hopefully a miracle will occur and we can negotiate with Gangrel. More bloodshed is pointless.

* * *

**(Colm's POV)**

_Tch! Why did I have to stay here? Why couldn't I have gone back with the report? Now I have to sit here and stare at a battlefield 'Just in case something happens'. Yeah Right, as if anything's gonna happen on a battlefield who's battle has already ended._

I sat down on a rock and tried to find something to do. There were dead bodies, there was sand, and there were dead bodies half buried in sand…It didn't take a lot of thinking to realize that there was nothing to entertain myself with, although I suppose I could loot the bodies. No self-respecting thief would pass up such a chance.

_Let's see. Gold, weapons, gold, and gold. Well, regardless of who won this battle, it would seem that I am the true victor._

Just as I finished gloating to myself about the things I had looted, an arrow lodged itself in the sand next to me. I jumped away in panic and looked around for the source of the arrow. Some distance away, I could see a girl with her bow raised and an arrow nocked. And if I didn't know any better, I'd say she was aiming at me.

She let the arrow fly and I swear I could feel the arrow nick my ear as it passed. I scrambled to my feet and ducked behind the nearest rock.

"Come out, coward! Face me like real man!" She said.

It sounded like she had some kind of accent. But I couldn't quite place where it was from. She shot another arrow right over top of the rock, causing me to instinctively move my head down farther.

"Why are you attacking me?!" I yelled from behind my rock.

"You are enemy, yes?"

"….No?"

"Lies!"

_Oh, she's sharp._

The arrows continued to fly overhead, which gave me exactly zero chances to peek out from behind my rock and figure out how close she is. But I needed to know where she was in relation to my rock. I took the chance and leaned toward the side of the rock…She was right next to my rock…with her bow aimed straight down at me. I raised my hands in surrender and gave an uneasy smile. She smiled back at me, and then promptly put an arrow through my knee.

"AAACCCKKKK! GAAHHH! WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT!?" I asked through the excruciating pain.

"Yumiko could not let you escape." She said matter-of-factly.

"Wha-? Who is Yumiko?"

"_I _am Yumiko!" She said angrily.

_Ahhhh, yes, that would make sense._

"Well in any case, due to your bright idea to put an arrow through my knee, I will probably be dead before the day is over!" I said angrily, still clutching my knee in pain. "Unless I somehow get medical attention posthaste, that is."

She seemed to ponder my words for a bit, mulling something over inside her head before getting an annoyed look on her face and reaching down towards me.

"Wait, what are you doing?! Get your hands off me!" I yelled in protest.

"Stop flailing like dying fish and sit still! I'm trying to get you to healer!"

I immediately ended my struggle and looked at her in confusion as she picked me up bridal style.

"So wait, let me get this straight. First, you try to kill me, and then you shoot me in the leg, and now you want to help me? How exactly does your brain work?"

"Look, you are no good to me dead. Judging from equipment, you are thief, yes? And I need help from thief." She said.

"So why couldn't you hire a thief in town?" I asked.

"Because I needed to find thief that is easily defeated."

_Gee, thanks a lot._

Conversation ceased after that and I was left to my thoughts as she carried me through the desert.

Now that I wasn't arguing with her or in excruciating pain, I actually took in her appearance.

She had jade colored eyes that complimented her olive tan complexion quite nicely and her dark violet hair was tied into a braided ponytail. Her outfit consisted of a short tunic, purple on the left side and violet on the right, ending above her knees with a tightened leather brown belt just above her hips, worn over a sleeveless white shirt and a light brown hooded cape that reached the middle of her back. She also wore knee high boots and dark violet fingerless gloves.

She saw me looking at her and gave me a scowl. I recoiled under her gaze and tried to look anywhere else.

"Ahem, so uh, where are we headed?" I asked, trying to start a conversation.

"Umm, Yumiko hadn't really thought about that…" She said as she slowed her pace.

"Well then, would you mind taking me to Castle Plegia?" I asked hopefully.

"And why would Yumiko do that?"

"Because I need a healer and you need my help, isn't that what you said?"

She once again mulled over what I said before making a frustrated huff.

"Fine. Which way is castle?" She snapped.

Not daring to say a word in case I made her even more mad, I simply pointed in the direction we had come from. She turned around with an exasperated sigh and began the trek towards the castle.

* * *

**(Hershel's POV)**

I opened my crusty eyes and licked my dry and cracked lips as I awoke from my nap. I didn't bother to survey the room for some kind of miracle for two reasons; for one, the candles had burned out and second, I had long since accepted my death as something inevitable. After all, the most strenuous thing I could do was read the books on the shelf next to me, of course, I can't do that anymore anyway seeing as the last candle burned out long ago.

At this moment, I was contemplating committing suicide just so I could get out of here, but I was too much of a wuss to do it. Tch, even on my death bed I was too much of a scaredy-cat to do something that might cause pain.

Did I really deserve this punishment? At first I thought I didn't, and then I thought I did, and I've gone back and forth over and over again. And I couldn't help but contemplate it once more, sure I killed the Exalt, but shouldn't I have been given the death sentence instead of this cruel torture? Surely that should have been the case, and that would mean that Gangrel was in the wrong here. But nothing was going to happen to Gangrel despite passing an incorrect judgment simply because he was the king…Well that doesn't seem right, does it? Surely Gangrel deserves some form of retribution.

That was it. Gangrel didn't deserve to make such a judgment and get off scot free. That means that I can't die until I see him on the receiving end of judgment.

I must escape. There's no time to lose, I'm getting weaker by the minute and I can't afford to waste any energy. But how can I get out? Think think think….! Certain Dark magic spells have explosive properties! But, the candles have all gone out and I don't have any such spells memorized…grrr, there has to be a way out!

* * *

**(Robin's POV)**

"What are you saying, Chrom!?" I shouted, shocked.

"We can't trust Gangrel, Robin. If we try to negotiate, he'll try to kill us. We're better off just starting the attack and catching them off guard." Chrom said.

"But we could avoid so much bloodshed if we just negotiated with Gangrel to get Hershel instead of killing thousands upon thousands of people just to achieve the same goal!"

"Fine." Chrom sighed. "Against my better judgment, I will negotiate with Gangrel."

Against his better judgment!? I don't even know who he is anymore, but he's certainly not Chrom! Chrom would have done everything he could to _avoid_ causing casualties on both sides!

* * *

**(Omofrisit's POV)**

The Ylissean forces had made it to the palace and were now right outside the gates. I peered down at them through a window in the throne room and spotted Chrom and Robin. They seemed to be arguing about something, Robin was making large gestures with his arms that I couldn't understand and Chrom seemed to be telling him no. But now it seemed that Chrom had given in to whatever Robin was saying.

I watched them a little longer, wondering what they were doing before Validar walked in.

"The Ylisseans have requested a negotiation." He said.

"Show them in." I responded as I continued to watch out the window.

Validar grudgingly bowed and left the room. With everything going on, I had almost forgotten that Validar hated my guts, and it brought a smile to my face thinking about the fact that he couldn't do anything about it. I returned to my throne in anticipation of my visitors.

I wasn't kept waiting for long. Validar quickly returned with Chrom, Robin, Frederick and Lissa in tow. Validar walked up to stand next my throne and the other four stopped a fair distance from me.

I could tell they were confused and slightly shocked at the sight of me sitting on the late king's throne. Lissa hid behind Frederick as soon as she saw me, I assume she was reminded of when I trapped her and Chrom inside orbs of Dark magic.

"I see, so this is where you scurried away to, Omofrisit." Robin said. "But enough about that, where might we find King Gangrel?"

"In the graveyard." I responded with a smirk.

Robin was visibly taken aback.

"So then, judging from your statement and where you're sitting, I suppose we can assume you are the new king?" Robin asked.

"You would assume correctly." I said.

"This is different from what we expected, but it changes nothing. We have come to negotiate for Hershel Wile, the murderer of the previous Exalt." Chrom said.

"Ah yes, well there's just a small problem with that. See, we don't have him either." I explained. "Gangrel hid him and wouldn't reveal his location. And as you can see, he took his secret to the grave."

"So I guess its war then?" Chrom asked.

"If you so choose." I said with a nod, still smirking.

"Very well." Chrom said.

He turned and began walking out of the throne room with the others close behind. If I didn't know any better, I'd say I saw a smile on Chrom's face as he turned away. Just as planned.

* * *

**A/N: Hey guys, how ya doin? I know this is kinda really late, and honestly, I have no excuse for the lateness of this chapter and I apologize profusely. I hope I can be forgiven.**

**Please leave comments or question through either PM or review.**

**Thank you for reading, and please continue to do so!**


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